At gamescom 2021, a new competitor for FIFA 22 was announced with UFL. The football simulation aims to take a different approach than FIFA and eFootball. We present you the new game and show you what it wants to do differently.
For years, there have been two major football simulations on the gaming market, FIFA and PES (now eFootball), competing for the favor of players. This year, another football game wants to shake up the market with a new approach, the name: UFL.
What is UFL? The new football simulation UFL was presented at gamescom with a teaser trailer. The game has been in development for 5 years and comes from the newly founded development studio Strikers Inc. It is set to be released on all current consoles, namely: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, as well as Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One.
It will be free-to-play and offer official licenses from 5,000 professional footballers in cooperation with the players’ union FIFPRO. The status of licensed clubs and stadiums is still unknown.
However, the first teaser trailer shows the London Stadium, where West Ham United plays its home matches. You can watch the video here:
This is what UFL wants to do differently than FUT
According to its own statement, UFL’s motto is “Fair to Play”, which is not only supposed to refer to the free-to-play aspect. In online matches, the skill of the players is supposed to be the main focus and decide victory and defeat.
The concept of UFL is somewhat reminiscent of Ultimate Team, as in UFL, you are also expected to assemble your own team and compete in matches in a large online league. Whether there will also be a card mechanic remains unknown.
What will the gameplay be like? So far, there have been no details or videos about UFL’s gameplay. However, more information is expected in the near future.
This is the problem with FUT: Many players are frustrated by FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode, as players who invest money can quickly build a better team than those who do not wish to spend money. The situation is even so bad that FIFA professionals have to invest a lot of money in their teams to compete in major tournaments.
It is also frustrating that FUT players who are not interested in any other game mode still have to pay the full price for FIFA. The entry barrier would be lower with the free-to-play title, as everyone can at least try the game for free and play online matches. This is not possible with FUT.
When will UFL be released? The developer has not yet announced an official release date for UFL.
Can UFL really compete with the competitors? According to its own statement, UFL aims to revolutionize the football genre. Whether it will succeed remains questionable, as a football game stands or falls with its gameplay and there is currently simply too little information and impressions about UFL’s gameplay.
However, the intentions are interesting since a football simulation with licensed players and a fair mechanic without Pay2Win sounds very exciting. If the gameplay becomes truly competitive and the developer can deliver on its promises, then UFL could become an interesting alternative to FIFA and eFootball.
What do you think about UFL? Are you interested in an alternative to FIFA 22? Feel free to let us know in the comments! If you want to know what innovations FIFA 22 has to offer, then check it out here:
14 exciting innovations in FIFA 22 that everyone should know about
