Netflix's FIFA World Cup aims to reboot the franchise

As popular as EA Sports FC is, it can overwhelm casual fans with nuanced controls, dense menus and monetization layers. Netflix aims to lower those barriers with FIFA World Cup, an officially licensed soccer game launching June 11 as a Netflix exclusive. A hands-on with the Launch Edition shows the goal: a pick-up-and-play live-service title that stays true to the sport while removing much of modern gaming’s friction.

Subscribers will stream the game through the Netflix app and find three core modes at launch: Kick-off for quick matches, Tournament to guide a team through the World Cup, and Penalty Shootout as a casual minigame. The Launch Edition includes all 48 FIFA teams with up-to-date rosters; players upgrade characters with coins earned in matches and daily challenges.

There are no microtransactions, and matches follow regulation FIFA rules aside from being shorter. Control is handled via a smartphone split into two zones: a joystick on the left for movement and a touchpad on the right for passing, sprinting and shaping shots.

netflix, fifa, world cup, launch edition, streaming game, kick-off, tournament, penalty shootout, microtransactions, smartphone controls