FIFA, the international governing body of football and the organization behind the World Cup, today launched the open beta version of an op artificial intelligence (AI) based soccer game called AI League World Cup. This is a 4v4 football strategy game that uses AI for its characters, cosmetics and gameplay elements.
AI football game, that’s how it works
The football game was launched by Web3 company Altered State Machine and is possible on its own available on Android. An expansion to IOS is planned soon.
AI League does not feature well-known superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, both of whom have sponsorship deals with crypto companies, but instead uses brightly colored creatures that look something like a Pixar movie.
In the game, the characters’ movements are controlled by AI, which also determines their respective strengths and weaknesses. Like other fantasy football or sports management games, players act as team coaches and owners.
NFTs coming soon?
A representative from Altered State Machine has revealed that the company plans to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace for the game in the near future. When introduced, all of the game’s characters will be converted into NFTs.
AI League currently offers an in-game currency that allows users to purchase cosmetic enhancements for their players. However, this currency is not a cryptocurrency, in part because of Apple and Google’s restrictions around crypto trading.
The reason that NFTs are introduced later would have to do with the fact that the company wants to focus first on the user experience. Nor does it want the game’s players to be overly focused or distracted by the NFT elements.
FIFA and crypto
FIFA is no stranger to the crypto world, as the crypto exchange Crypto.com was the official partner of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. You could also read in the altcoin news that Algorand was the first official blockchain partner of the football association that launched an NFT platform in collaboration with FIFA.
