Football, or soccer in the USA, connects with the community of gamers that remains strong and constantly growing; football video games manage to be attractive to new users every year. However, this renewal of users has not been achieved organically in real football for a long time. This digital football still has room for improvement to be more dominant in the market. 

Live content

Kick-Off was the game that built the foundations of current gameplay mechanics in football games, adding the dribble, and the ball was not stuck to the players. The next big step was made by FIFA 98, aside from the legendary Song 2 (by Blur) included to present the title, the ball has its entity for the first time, dribbling was complex, and players reactions were “real” consistent. Of course, speaking from a simulation standpoint, Pro Evolution Soccer was the king. 

In recent years part of the evolution has been made to integrate eSports in football games, but companies are still far from the concept of “arena” in football video games. If they want to compete with other video games and content platforms for their leisure time, it is necessary to build a platform that includes everything that could be the dream for a football fan. Imagine a soccer arena with its eSports area, match management, an area for pairing with other online users and even betting, like the services provided by BoyleSports. 

Free to edit, free to keep it updated

One of the keys of Pro Evolution Soccer in the PS2 years was that those games were fully editable products. The lack of licenses could be compensated with patches created by the community to update the rosters, even the ambient from each stadium was added via a patch. That malleability has been lost and is essential for connecting with the fans. Imagine Skyrim’s mod system on PS4/Xbox One in a football game.

Management options with complete football settings

Currently, the two main proposals in football are summarized in FIFA and Football Manager because Konami’s eFootball is far from being an option. FIFA 22 has improved visually and the ball and the players physics but should include full manager options to give the player more alternatives. Football Manager is exquisite as a manager but lacks active gameplay. One of the two options should evolve towards what the other offers to remain a reference and not being stuck in the proposals and general focus. 

Big data and machine learning

Big data and machine learning can push the game onto more realistic and less predictable terrain. The idea is that through these technologies, football games can reach the consideration of “simulators” to be even used for professional football players. Professional drivers use driving games to improve their technique and knowledge of the environment. The digital football world must evolve to achieve this goal, something that big data can achieve with the implementation of machine learning systems.