FIFA and EA Sports’ annual FIFA title already has an esports presence, but this year the format is getting a revamp alongside a new name. The FIFA Interactive World Cup is now called the FIFA eWorld Cup, which remains the biggest tournament for each year.
To qualify for the eWorld Cup, there are now more tournaments one can participate. The FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Cups are the entryway for most players. The FIFA eClub World Cup are reserved for players already signed to a FIFA team. The Official League Partners Qualifications allows players “the opportunity to represent their favorite real-life club through official league competitions that will be announced soon”. Lastly there are Licensed Qualifying Competitions where players can go to official tournaments run by third parties under official license.
Through all various tournaments, the top 16 players for PS4 and Xbox One will make their way to the FIFA eWorld Cup on August 2018.
The various qualification process represents how far-reaching the esports initiative of EA and FIFA has gone. Football clubs now have dedicated esports players and they are accommodating that with the FIFA eClub World Cup. They are also not oblivious of the esports scene where established tournament organisers are a thing, hence the licensed qualifying competitions.
The qualifier events should start on November 3 this year. Expect to hear more details on each of the qualifiers soon.