New EA Sports FC rival UFL backed by Cristiano Ronaldo gets release date

New football video game UFL, hoped to rival the behemoth of EA Sports FC, has got a release date.

UFL is an upcoming free-to-play game by developer Strikerz Inc that prides itself on being an online football simulation, saying players don't have to pay to win and skill is what counts the most (cheeky digs at a certain franchise it seems...).

The game has been tested extensively, having had its first open beta in June (when more than 1.5million players downloaded it and tried it out) and a second one at the start of August.

These are understood to have been really successful, so much so that UFL has been given the go-ahead to release on September 12, a few days before EA Sports FC 25 comes out on September 20.

UFL™ Tutorials #5 | Players ManagementFor long-term success in UFL, choose your squad carefully and rotate wisely, focusing on player energy. Our latest UFL ...

In UFL, players build a club from the ground up and can recruit players based on the tactics they want to use, then play against others from around the world while collecting unique club items.

While it doesn't appear there will be many (if any) official licenses, Strikerz Inc says there are thousands of real-life footballers to choose from.

The developers aren't messing around either - there's been more than $40m of investment that's gone into the game including an injection announced in December 2023 from Cristiano Ronaldo.

There is speculation that this could finally be the game to give EA Sports FC a worthy rival.

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