EA Sports FIFA 19 Global Series generated 25% increase in viewership, thanks to 17 partnerships with international soccer bodies and interested organizations.
EA Sports flagship title FIFA 19 Global Series continues to break new records. In a joint-statement released on Friday, June 21, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the game developer reported that viewership for the video game has jumped 25% year-over-year.
According to the official statement, the Series generated 680 million minutes of viewed time and 61 million total views. EA Sports have long been predicting the potential of their game and to date, there is no other sports simulator that has been as successful as FIFA 19 in converting traditional sports fans into esports aficionados and vice versa.
The continued growth of the series is underpinned by the outreach strategy that EA Sports have leveraged this year, signing up as many as 17 official league partners, compared to eight last season. EA Sports held many firsts this season, including the FIFA eNations Cup and the eChampions League.
The FIFA 19 Series are also part of the official digital competition of many mainstream soccer contests, including theEnglish Premier League, La Liga, and the Danish Super Liga. The growing popularity of the game has been touted for a while now.
FIFA Competitive Gaming Commissioner, Brent Koning, has highlighted the results achieved by the company as a result of the partnerships with mainstream soccer bodies. Here is what Mr Koning had to say:
We’re thrilled to see a global community rally around the FIFA 19 Global Series in such monumental ways. Now, we watch the top 120 players that qualified for the FIFA 19 Global Series Playoffs compete in pursuit of becoming world champion at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019.
Mr. Koning stated that the growth of viewership was indicative of the importance of esports in the overall expansion of soccer across the world. He was joined by eFootball & Gaming Director at FIFA Christian Volk who expressed his excitement and anticipation towards the FIFA eWorld Cup which will reunite 32 of the best FIFA 19 players in the summer.
The competition will be available for two types of console players, to name Xbox and PlayStation 4. The Xbox playoff will kick off on July 5 – 7 in Hamburg, Germany followed by the PlayStation 4 one on July 12-14 in Berlin, Germany.
FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 will give a chance to the world’s currently best-ranked FIFA players which have had a chance to distinguish themselves during the regular season. All players who make it to the finals o the eWorld Cup will have a chance to win a part of the $16,000 prize pool.
Earlier this year, EA’s Senior VP of Competitive Gaming, Todd Sitrin, expressed hopes that FIFA would be able to join ranks with the “top three esports titles,” citing Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). In light of the growing viewership, Mr. Sitrin may be right.
