The FIFA World Cup 2026™ was the largest digital football activation in FIFA’s history, with over 225 million players having engaged across FIFA-branded games, activations and digital experiences during the biggest edition of FIFA’s flagship men’s competition. Building on the recently launched FIFA Digital Football Strategy, FIFA and its partners delivered the organisation’s most ambitious gaming programme to date, spanning mobile gaming, cloud gaming, creator platforms and free-to-play experiences. Together, these initiatives reached an average of approximately 11 million daily active players, underlining gaming’s growing role in how football is discovered, experienced and shared by fans around the world.

In addition, gaming emerged as one of the three strongest drivers of fan engagement across FIFA-owned digital platforms during the tournament, alongside live match coverage and FIFA World Cup™ content, reinforcing its importance as a gateway to the wider FIFA ecosystem. With an estimated 1.8 billion football fans worldwide playing video games, FIFA is building a long-term digital football ecosystem that offers more ways to experience the game across mobile devices, creator platforms, esports, cloud gaming and football simulation. The FIFA World Cup 2026 marked the first global demonstration of that vision at scale. Throughout the showpiece event, FIFA and its partners offered a diverse portfolio of digital experiences designed to engage various audiences across multiple gaming platforms. Ahead of kick-off, the FIFA Panini Collection app, developed in collaboration with Coca-Cola, launched globally, allowing fans to collect digital stickers featuring selected players from the 48 participating nations. FIFA Rivals, FIFA’s official licensed arcade football game developed by Mythical Games, surpassed 3.5 million downloads, with players scoring more than 25 million goals during the global extravaganza.

On Roblox, FIFA and Gamefam introduced a dedicated FIFA World Cup event within FIFA Super Soccer, bringing official tournament content to one of the largest gaming communities on the planet. “We’re thrilled by the response to FIFA Super Soccer and the enthusiasm we’ve seen from fans around the world, which reflects Roblox’s success in giving supporters new ways to experience the sports they love. In this case, the excitement surrounding football is extended beyond the final whistle through shared play and connection. We look forward to continuing to innovate with FIFA and our creator community,” said Enrico D’Angelo, Chief Business Officer at Roblox.

Coinciding with the start of the global bonanza, FIFA rolled out FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition on Netflix Games, developed by Delphi Interactive. Designed as an accessible cloud-native football experience for a broad audience, it became Netflix’s biggest cloud gaming launch to date. With an average player rating of 4.2 out of five, the game will continue to evolve through regular updates informed by player feedback and gameplay data collected throughout the beta period.

“FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition was one of our most successful cloud game launches to date, and it’s just the beginning of what football on Netflix can be. We’re building games that are fast to learn, thrilling to master and made for anyone to jump in; all you need is Netflix and your phone. As we look ahead to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and beyond, we want to keep bringing football back to its roots: making it fun, social and just a tap away for everyone,” commented Alain Tascan, President of Games at Netflix. FIFA further expanded its portfolio with the worldwide launch of FIFA Heroes, developed in partnership with Solace Games, on 24 June. The title exceeded two million downloads in its first month post-launch. Meanwhile, FIFA Play Zone became FIFA’s central free-to-play hub throughout the competition, engaging more than 33 million fans through interactive games, challenges and digital rewards.

Furthermore, official FIFA World Cup integrations featured across major gaming platforms including Rocket League, Fortnite and Football Manager 2026, extending the tournament experience into some of the planet’s largest gaming communities. Together, these initiatives reflect FIFA’s commitment to building an open digital football ecosystem that embraces various genres, platforms and styles of play, recognising the fact that the way in which fans experience football is becoming increasingly varied. “Bringing the FIFA World Cup 2026 to life through Football Manager 26 has been a landmark for the studio and our community. Since the launch, players across platforms have embraced the refreshed International Management experience, helping to drive a meaningful uplift in daily engagement, as well as in new and returning players,” noted Miles Jacobson, Managing Director at Sports Interactive. Alongside its expanding games portfolio, FIFA introduced FIFA Gaming Couch, a global marketing platform designed to bring together football, gaming, entertainment and creator culture. Over six weeks, the FIFA Gaming Couch travelled from Los Angeles to New York City, following the FIFA World Cup from the opening match to the final through creator collaborations, digital storytelling and live fan experiences. More than 200 pieces of content were produced across FIFA and partner channels, while collaborations with over 70 athletes, creators and entertainers – including Tony Hawk, Marco Reus, Kaká, Lauren Sesselmann, Ronaldo Nazário, Jakob Johnson, IShowSpeed, and Fabrizio Romano – generated more than 105 million views worldwide. The campaign also featured flagship fan events in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and New York City, celebrating football’s growing cultural influence beyond the pitch. The success of the FIFA World Cup 2026 digital programme reinforces digital football as a key pillar of FIFA’s long-term fan engagement strategy. Building on the momentum generated throughout the competition, FIFA will continue expanding its digital football ecosystem through new games, partnerships and fan experiences, with plans already in place for the next edition of the FIFA Gaming Couch roadshow, which will be rolled out at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™.