First new FIFA game in four years coming to Netflix next week for World Cup 2026

FIFA has announced a release date for its first major game since parting ways with EA, and it kicks off on the same day as the World Cup. 

After EA dropped the FIFA licence in 2021, the football association has announced two new games so far from different developers. 

The first was FIFA Heroes from ENVER studio, a five-a-side arcade-style experience with cuddly mascots which, after a few delays, is set to launch June 22 on PC and mobile. 

The other title is FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, a collaboration between FIFA and Netflix which was announced in December last year. While it was always slated for the summer, to coincide with the FIFA World Cup 2026, Netflix has now confirmed it will officially launch Thursday, June 11 exclusively on the streaming service. 

Developed and published by Delphi Interactive, FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition is a football sim which supports up to four players. According to Netflix, the game includes all 48 teams and 16 real-world stadiums in the World Cup, across the US, Canada, and Mexico. 

The game is free for all existing Netflix subscribers and can be accessed through the ‘Games’ tab. Controller wise, FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition is played using your phone, which you connect to the game via a QR code. 

If you’re expecting the graphics to rival competitor EA Sports FC however, you might be disappointed. Based on the trailer, it looks like a step back in time, and it doesn’t help that the clip covers up the gameplay constantly with splashes of text all over the screen.

FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition is described as ‘the kickoff’ of a ‘streamlined, high-energy version of the game focused on immediate fun’. Netflix says it is planning on adding ‘depth, complexity, and technical refinements to updated versions’. 

Speaking about the game, Alain Tascan, president of Netflix Games, said: ‘The FIFA World Cup is going to be the cultural event of 2026, and now fans will be able to celebrate their fandom by bringing the game right into their living rooms.

‘We want to bring football back to its roots with something everyone can play with just the touch of a button.’

It’s difficult to gauge FIFA’s expectations for this Netflix partnership, but the streaming service isn’t exactly a powerhouse in the industry. At one point it seemed as if it was trying to be but more recently it starting curtailing its gaming plans and closing internal developers.

The only other sports game on the service is Football Manager 2026 Mobile, while other titles include Dead Cells, Arranger, Before Your Eyes, Kentucky Route Zero and Oxenfree. 

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Comments


Add as preferred source