The 2026 World Cup has become an interactive, playable experience, after Netflix announced an official football game licensed by FIFA as part of its Netflix Games service.
The game was developed by Delphi Interactive, and will be released in the summer of 2026 in conjunction with the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers.
The game is offered as part of the existing Netflix Games library, with support for playback on smart TVs, streaming devices and mobile phones.
The phone is used as a controller when playing on TV, while an original version is available on iOS and Android. The experience focuses on quick matches and single-player or online play, rather than complex simulations aimed exclusively at professional players.
This project comes after the end of the historic partnership between FIFA and EA Sports in 2022, following disagreements over name and licensing rights. While EA renamed its series to EA Sports FC and retained the rights to the leagues and players, FIFA moved to give its branding to new partners.
The exclusive agreement with Netflix gives it instant access to hundreds of millions of users, in a move aimed at expanding the brand’s global reach.
On the other hand, Netflix is strengthening its strategy in the gaming field, going beyond limited mobile experiences, and confirming its endeavor to make gaming on the platform as common as watching series, with FIFA as one of the main titles of this vision.
