Even as European soccer’s governing body UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF issued an open letter yesterday attacking FIFA chief Gianni Infantino’s conduct during the proposed sale of a stake in World Cup commercial rights, just stopping short of demanding his removal, football’s governing body preferred to highlight gains and achievements of the recently concluded Word Cup, saying digital push drew in millions of gamers.

In a statement issued yesterday, FIFA said more than 225 million gamers engaged with FIFA-branded games, activations and digital experiences during the FIFA World Cup 2026, making it the organisation’s largest-ever digital football activation.

FIFA said gaming also ranked among the three biggest drivers of fan engagement across its digital platforms during the tournament.

The gaming programme, built around FIFA’s Digital Football Strategy, spanned mobile gaming, cloud gaming, creator platforms and free-to-play experiences.

These initiatives recorded an average of approximately 11 million daily active players, highlighting gaming’s growing role in how fans discover, experience and share football.

FIFA said an estimated 1.8 billion football fans worldwide play video games, and the World Cup provided the first global demonstration at scale of its planned digital football ecosystem.

The FIFA Panini Collection app, launched globally with Coca-Cola ahead of the tournament, allowed fans to collect digital stickers featuring selected players from all 48 participating nations.

FIFA Rivals, its licensed arcade football game developed by Mythical Games, crossed 3.5 million downloads, while players scored more than 25 million goals during the tournament.

FIFA Play Zone, the organisation’s free-to-play hub, engaged more than 33 million fans through games, challenges and digital rewards. FIFA Heroes, launched globally on June 24 with Solace Games, exceeded two million downloads in its first month.

On Roblox, FIFA and Gamefam brought an official World Cup event to FIFA Super Soccer.

“We’re thrilled by the response to FIFA Super Soccer and the enthusiasm we’ve seen from fans around the world,” said Enrico D’Angelo, Chief Business Officer at Roblox.

‘FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition’ on Netflix Games, meanwhile, became the streamer’s biggest cloud gaming launch to date, with an average player rating of 4.2 out of five.

“ ‘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,” commented Alain Tascan, President of Games at Netflix.

The tournament experience also extended to Rocket League, Fortnite and Football Manager 2026.

FIFA’s six-week Gaming Couch campaign, which travelled from Los Angeles to New York City, produced more than 200 pieces of content and featured collaborations with over 70 athletes, creators and entertainers. Those collaborations generated more than 105 million views worldwide, with fan events held in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and New York City.

FIFA said it will continue expanding the digital football ecosystem through new games, partnerships and fan experiences, with the next FIFA Gaming Couch roadshow planned for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.