NFT-based FIFA competitor GOALS scores $15M investment

Swedish video game startup GOALS, which is building a multiplayer football game that utilizes NFTs, has raised $15M in funding.

The game: GOALS is looking to separate itself from its competitors in several ways.

• The most distinctive feature of GOALS is perhaps its use of NFTs, allowing players to earn and own in-game assets. There will be a marketplace where players can buy or sell these assets.
• While FIFA and eFootball both license the rights to use real-life professional footballers and clubs, GOALS isn't looking to battle it out in this arena. (Football governing body FIFA made $158.9M from licensing in 2020 alone.)
• Gameplay is a vital aspect of any video game and GOALS has "sort of arcade kind of approach" that forgoes attempting to simulate the real-life game. It'll also be "esports ready," meaning it will be built with fair competition in mind.

The future: GOALS is still a way off from launching.

• CEO Andreas Thorstensson has revealed, per Sifted, that an internal version of the game will be built this summer but the full game won't be published for another couple of years.
• To continue on its path of building a competitor to the legacy football games, GOALS has raised $15M in a seed round led which saw the likes of professional footballer Gerard Piqué, the COO of play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, and the co-founder of fantasy football platform Sorare.
• Play-to-earn gaming, which allows players to potentially make money through marketplaces on the blockchain, is an emerging sector within the games industry. Titles such as Axie Infinity and Mavia are good examples of games utilizing such technology.