FIFA 21 Highlights Its eSports Credentials with Record-Breaking Event

The FIFA series of games have been hugely popular for years, so it is perhaps not a great surprise to see the latest edition attracting plenty of attention.

Interest in FIFA 21 was high even before its full launch, with EA revealing that more than 2.3 million people across the globe played the game early via EA Play. Now, new figures related to a recent tournament have hinted at the real pulling power that the game has from an eSports perspective.

In the end, it was @TrentAA and @Tekkz who became the #FIFA21 Challenge Champions! 🏆

Check out the tournament recap ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3qaoHnF2k0

— EA FIFA esports (@EAFIFAesports) October 30, 2020

Setting new standards

Earlier this month, sites including Sports Video Group revealed how a one-day event known as the FIFA 21 Challenge became EA’s most-watched eSports broadcast ever. The charity competition, which saw leading FIFA players join forces with professional footballers, generated an average minute audience (AMA) of 254,057 as well as a total watch time of more than one million hours. In comparison, the FIFA Global Series FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona in 2018 achieved an AMA of just over 92,000.

Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tekkz emerged to be the winning duo in the event, which also offered fans the chance to get in-game benefits for watching. Brent Koning, the EA Sports FIFA Commissioner, told Sports Video Group that the success of the event reinforced the company’s “strategy and vision” for broadening the audience watching eSports.

Massive growth

While the success of the tournament is undoubtedly a milestone for EA and FIFA 21, it is also perhaps further evidence of how the level of interest around eSports seems to be continuing to grow at pace. According to Statista, the number of eSports viewers is set to grow from around 173 million in 2018 to reach almost 300 million by 2023.

This growth may well be why the wider world is seemingly sitting up and taking more notice of eSports than ever before. For instance, in recent years, the betting scene around the industry has really come into its own. 

David Beckham’s Guild Esports is set to become the first UK esports company to list on the London Stock Exchange. Guild Esports, which owns and develops esports teams, intends to raise $26 million by listing around 40% of its shares. More here: https://t.co/9eldxUnTu0 pic.twitter.com/3IjqWFMgHW

— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) September 10, 2020

Elsewhere, eSports continues to attract big-name sponsorship, with Reuters recently revealing how Beats by Dre has become a sponsor of the League of Legends team TOP eSports. In addition, major celebrities have spotted the opportunities available in the area as well, with David Beckham notably investing in and becoming a co-owner of Guild eSports.

An exciting time

With all of that in mind, it is hard to argue against the fact that it is an exciting time in eSports. The industry is seemingly going from strength to strength and EA will be hoping that FIFA 21 and future titles in the series have a big part to play in its future.

The franchise has been a core part of video gaming for a very long time, but could eSports help to take it to a whole new level? It will be interesting to see how matters develop both in the months and years ahead.