The number of video-gamers has accelerated in growth each year, with market research estimating a total of 3.09 billion playing across multiple consoles and devices.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw participation in video-gaming reach an all time high. Statista, a highly trusted analytics company, gave insight into how gamers were behaving inside their digital gaming communities. They discovered that six in every ten gamers were playing online multi-player games more frequently, and that gamer participation multiplied rapidly.
The appetite for video games has created a market where gaming developers are focusing on connecting with gamers across multiple consoles and devices. Statista also found that approximately 227 million people in the United States play video games one to a few hours per week – mind boggling numbers for a country that is estimated to have around 330 million residents.
Understanding just how big the video gaming community is, we can take a closer look at Strikerz Inc. – and how they plan to become the number one football video game in the world with their Ultimate Football League (UFL) franchise.
Who is Strikerz Inc?
Strikerz Inc. is a video game-creating collective and an international gaming brand launched in 2016 by a handful of people involved with online football. Currently, there are 200+ employees located in over five regional offices in various locations across Europe. Strikerz Inc. is the force behind the UFL, the ongoing online football video-game revolution. With the company’s employees being avid football fans, it aims to offer its players an unprecedented gaming experience available on all major platforms.
Tell me more about the UFL game:
The UFL game is a free-to-play football game that focuses on online gameplay as its main priority. For those new to the gaming world, free-to-play means that most aspects of the game can be played without the gamer incurring any charges. This is an important feature as several games online let users pay money in order to gain a competitive advantage whilst playing games. The free-to-play model presents a more level playing field amongst online gamers, therefore adapting the ‘free-to-play, fair-to-play slogan’.
The gameplay has only been released in small snippets for fans to see, but early signs suggest that the game is going to be a major player amongst football video-games. The attention to detail to the finer aesthetics is a sight to behold. Strikerz Inc. has gone above and beyond to ensure that each team’s home stadium and supporters are replicated accurately. For example, you will find West Ham’s iconic home ground, the London Stadium, accurately portrayed to replicate a West Ham game day. The exact lighting gantry specifications and side-line visuals, such as the bubble machines, are truly represented creating a lifelike playing experience.
UFL was due to be released earlier this year (2022), but in August, Strikerz Inc. CEO Eugene Nashilov announced that the game’s release date will be pushed back to 2023.
“We at Strikerz Inc. have always set a very high bar for ourselves, both inside and outside the studio. Our goal now, as it was then, is nothing less than the delivery of a triple-A quality, reactive, realistic football simulator featuring top-of-the-line graphics and gameplay,” he said in a statement.
There is no doubt that the UFL creators are taking their time fine-tuning the game before releasing it worldwide on multiple platforms. UFL will be available across PlayStation, Xbox, and the popular PC – a platform that 63 per cent of gaming developers have focused their attention on.
The Strikerz Inc. team have been working hard on the UFL project since 2016, securing important licences along the way. FIFPro is a worldwide organisation representing footballers who currently have over 65,000 professional players on their books. FIFPro, along with sports analytics company, InStat, will provide up to date analytics on players to support the UFL game.
In preparation for the 2023 release, Strikerz Inc. has promised engagement and transparency with fans and the gaming community. They have released UFL Journey, a show broken down into episodes giving fans a behind the scenes look at how the game was made and previews of what fans can look forward to. The episodes can be found on the UFL website or on YouTube. They also host Q&A sessions and regularly update fans on any new developments surrounding the game.
How is Strikerz Inc. preparing for the 2023 UFL release?
The company has wasted no time promoting the game with Strikerz Inc. – having recently signed a partnership with Bundesliga powerhouse, Bayer Leverkusen. Commenting on the new deal. Nashilov said via press release: “The history of Bayer 04 shows you should never give up while there’s still a chance. They won the European trophy because they played to the final whistle. That’s a trait that we, at Strikerz Inc., have always admired. And we are happy to welcome Bayer 04 into the UFL family.”
The Leverkusen partnership adds to the already impressive list of clubs partnering with Strikerz Inc. Over the past year, the gaming developers have managed to secure partnerships with Borussia Monchengladbach, AS Monaco, and English Premier League side West Ham United. As for the players, UFL has already secured several football superstars to become ambassadors of the game. Arguably the greatest player of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo, has thrown his support behind the game becoming the face of the franchise. He joins Manchester City star, Kevin De Bruyne, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, and Belgian International, Romelu Lukaku, as faces of UFL.
The UFL game is due to be released at a time when football fans are pondering their next go-to football game. Currently, EA Sports’ FIFA franchise is the globally renowned football game, but it was announced it will be discontinued, with FIFA 2023 being the last instalment.
EA Sports confirmed that it failed to reach a new licensing agreement with FIFA and would turn its attention to an EA Sports FC game. This news opens the door for UFL to potentially take the reigns as the world’s number one footballing video game going forward.
