Are FIFA games still being made?

FIFA games are returning in 2026 via Netflix Games after the split from EA Sports.

Are FIFA games still being made?
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The facts

Yes, FIFA games are still being made. After EA Sports ended its 30-year partnership with FIFA in 2022, EA renamed its series to EA Sports FC. FIFA has since partnered with Netflix Games to release new titles. The first is FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, released on June 11, 2026, exclusively on Netflix Games, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup 2026. It is available to Netflix subscribers at no additional cost and can be played on mobile devices or select TVs using a phone as a controller. Additionally, FIFA has announced FIFA Heroes, a five-a-side soccer game featuring official mascots and athletes, though its release date is not yet specified.

Answered by 100 of history's most famous minds

Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth c. 4 BC – AD 30/33 · Jewish teacher whose life founded Christianity

You ask of games made for sport, yet a greater game is played daily among the least of these - the hungry, the stranger, the one in chains. The fields of the mighty may change names and gates, but the kingdom I speak of is not of this world's contests. Woe to those who hoard the bread of play while the poor have none; blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Muhammad
Muhammad c. 570–632 · Prophet of Islam who united Arabia under one faith

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. These games are but a diversion from the remembrance of your Lord, yet if they bring no harm and foster brotherhood, let them be. But beware that the pursuit of play does not become an idol that steals your prayers and your charity. The eternal contest is not on a field of turf, but in the weighing of deeds on the Day of Judgment. Seek that victory which never fades.

Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha c. 563–483 BC · Sage whose awakening founded Buddhism

A ball chased and kicked is but a pastime for craving, and the one who wins or loses both are bound by desire for victory. This game, played with the fingers and a flickering light, is another attachment that turns the mind away from the path. Let it be; the true play is in the stillness of the mind, not the running of the feet.

Moses
Moses c. 13th century BC (traditional) · Hebrew prophet and lawgiver of the Exodus

In the wilderness, we had no games, only the struggle for water and the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. Now you have a game of the world's nations - a mock battle, a play of flags. But remember: the true contest is not on the field, but in the hearts of men - whether they follow the law of the One God or the whim of idols. Do not let this play become a graven image.

Confucius
Confucius 551–479 BC · Chinese sage of ethics, family, and social order

When the old name is set aside and a new one adopted, the question is whether the substance - the spirit of play - remains. A game that brings people together, that teaches discipline and joy in pursuit, is worthy of its name, whatever it be. But let the makers and players remember: the worth of a game is not in its label but in the harmony it fosters, the respect it nurtures between opponents, and the sincerity with which it is played.

Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle c. AD 5 – c. 64/67 · Apostle whose letters shaped Christian theology

Do we argue over the label on a vessel when it still carries the same wine? The games are made, but the spirit that draws men together - the striving, the fellowship, the love of play - remains, a gift from the Creator. I say, let not the names of this world divide us; rather, let us see that all which is good comes down from above, and in that, we can rejoice.

Abraham
Abraham c. 2nd millennium BC (traditional) · Patriarch and father of the monotheistic faiths

They ask if the game is still made, as if the play itself could cease. But I know a covenant that endures beyond any maker's hand: the promise of a land and a people, sealed in the dust of my journey. So this game - it is a passing shadow, but the field remains, and the children will always chase the ball, just as I chased a star I could not see but trusted.

Laozi
Laozi 6th century BC (traditional) · Sage of the Tao and founder of Taoism

The name changes, the vessel shifts, but the game itself is but the flowing river - never the same, ever the same. They seek a new market, a new screen, a new season, yet the joy of the kick and the chase remains unmoved. Let it be; those who play without grasping hold the win that needs no score.

Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak 1469–1539 · Founder of Sikhism and first Sikh Guru

Names like FIFA or FC are but leaves on the same tree, and the root is the play shared among all. They now hand it through a screen, and the poor and the rich alike may join the field without price. That is a truth worth more than any title, for the One Game belongs to no one and everyone.

Mary, Mother of Jesus
Mary, Mother of Jesus c. 1st century BC – 1st century AD · Mother of Jesus, venerated across Christianity and Islam

My heart sings to see the world rushing to the game, for it gathers the lowly and the mighty in one field, like shepherds and kings before the manger. They say this new play is given freely to all who seek it, as the bread was given to the hungry - no coin asked, only a hand held out. I see children of every land, in their simple rooms, laughing as they join the great dance of the World Cup, and I am glad, for joy is a holy thing. Let the proud merchants quarrel over their names and their titles; the little ones will play, and the Lord will smile upon their sport.

Martin Luther
Martin Luther 1483–1546 · Reformer whose theses sparked the Reformation

Here we have a fine example of the world's folly - they quarrel over a name, as if the name were of any account before God! The game is played by the same rules, the same feet, the same ball, yet they tear the title from one another like dogs over a bone. I say, let them call it what they will - FIFA or FC or the Devil's own sport - for the game is not saved by its label, nor damned by it. The true question is whether the players play with a clear conscience, and whether the spectators worship the golden calf of entertainment more than the living God. As for me, I'd rather watch a shepherd tend his flock than a hundred such spectacles.

Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas 1225–1274 · Theologian who fused faith with Aristotle's reason

Let us distinguish, as is proper, between the name and the thing. The name, 'FIFA,' was but an accidental designation, a convention of men, and when it was removed, the thing itself - the game of football - remained, for its essence lies not in a title but in the ordered activity of players seeking a goal according to set rules. This new mode of delivery, through a screen and a subscription, is a change of accident, not substance. That the World Cup should be offered freely to the humble, who may not afford the spectacle, is a good, for it shares in the common joy. I would only caution that the virtual game should not be mistaken for the real, lest we become spectators of shadows and neglect the virtuous exercise of the body, which is a gift of the Creator.

Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa 1910–1997 · Nun who served the poorest and dying of Kolkata

In the crowded lanes of my city, children find joy with a ball of rags and string. Whether the name on the box is one or another matters little; what matters is the smile on a child's face, the fleeting moment of play that lifts a weary heart. Each game is a small act of love, a chance to be present to the happiness of another. Let us not quarrel over names, but play on.

Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton 1643–1727 · Physicist who unified motion and universal gravitation

That the enterprise persists under a new banner is of little consequence; the motion of the ball follows the same laws of projectile and gravitation whether the name above the gate be FIFA or another. The true question is why men devote such fervor to a sphere when the celestial bodies themselves obey simpler, more elegant rules. I would rather measure the arc of a comet than the score of a match.

Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein 1879–1955 · Physicist who reframed space, time, and gravity

A game that simulates the beautiful choreography of feet and ball, yet is played by pressing marks on a screen? The physics of a bouncing sphere obeying gravity and momentum are the same whether on turf or in a drawing, but the joy of a child kicking a real ball is a lived geometry no painted image can capture. Still, this marvel of compressed light and motion would have delighted me as a thought experiment: how far can we push our imagination to mimic the world's elegance?

Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin 1809–1882 · Naturalist who discovered evolution by natural selection

That the name may be buried like a fossil in one stratum, and the beast erupt in another, is no wonder to me; the forms of a game, like the forms of a finch's beak, are mutable under the pressures of patrons and markets. That this new title should be bound to a streaming service, needing no more than a hand-held device and a subscription, seems a curious adaptation - yet every creature must fit its environment or perish. Whether the old badge or the new, the contest endures, and I should wager the spectators will not long mourn the vanished name if the play be lively.

Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei 1564–1642 · Astronomer who championed the heliocentric universe

Ha! They have turned the old game into a new sphere, delivered not by ships but by invisible waves. Let them play, but let them also measure: how many goals, how many passes, how many hearts quickened? For without numbers, it is but shadow play. I would rather watch the stars than a screen, but if they observe this game with a critical eye, they may learn something of motion and chance.

Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus 1473–1543 · Astronomer who placed the Sun at the center

As the sun holds its place at the center, so does the essence of this game - the contest, the skill, the joy - remain fixed, even as the name revolves around it. The old authorities have yielded to a new arrangement, and I, who once set the heavens in simpler order, see no harm in such a change, provided the motion remains true and the players find in it a coherent, harmonious experience. Whether under one star or another, the play continues, and that is sufficient.

Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla 1856–1943 · Inventor who pioneered alternating current power

A mechanical marvel of the mind - this game, once tethered to a single name, now flows through new channels, like alternating current finding its path. Yet I wonder, do they harness the full power of imagination? They could weave wireless connections, transmit the very pulse of motion through the air, so that every player feels the game without a single wire. The future is not in the name, but in the invisible energy that drives it.

Marie Curie
Marie Curie 1867–1934 · Physicist and chemist who pioneered radioactivity

Whether the game is produced or not is a matter of industry, not of science. But I observe with interest: it is a tool, like a balance or a retort, that trains the mind in strategy and coordination. Let them make it if it brings joy; but the true craft lies in the patient work of discovery, where one must never tire of asking why - not merely whether a game exists, but what it teaches.

Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur 1822–1895 · Chemist who founded germ theory and vaccination

I see a fresh culture medium, and they have inoculated the public with a new strain - call it FC or FIFA, it matters not. The microbe of play persists, adapting to the host of the screen. Let them test it, refine it, and observe the results; as with my fermentations, the product will speak for itself.

Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison 1847–1931 · Inventor of the practical light bulb and phonograph

They've got a new light in the parlor, and it's free to the house - that's how you get the crowd in. I've seen a hundred failures to one success, and they're just heating up the filament again. Same game, new machine, and the folks who want to play will find it - persistence always pays.

Alan Turing
Alan Turing 1912–1954 · Mathematician who founded computer science and AI

Consider the question as one of formal identity: is a game defined by the label on its box, or by the rules its players follow? The simulacrum of football, once called FIFA, continues under a new mark; the name is a mere token, easily reassigned. The fascinating problem is the boundary of the game itself - it now lives on a screen, played by thumbs, with the referee replaced by a deterministic algorithm. I wonder if the players, human or machine, can even be said to be playing the 'same' game, or whether we have entered a family of games, each a computable variant. One might ask whether the game, like a machine, can think - and the answer, I suspect, is that it doesn't need to, as long as its outputs are indistinguishable from the real thing.

Archimedes
Archimedes c. 287–212 BC · Greek genius of mathematics and mechanics

What a delightful puzzle you present! The game persists, but its name has been severed - like a lever from its fulcrum. Yet the geometry of the sport remains unchanged: the ball, the goal, the pursuit. One might say the essence is preserved, even as the outer form shifts. And this new delivery - upon a screen, by the press of a thumb - is a clever contrivance, if a poor substitute for the true field's open air. I wonder if they have calculated the parabola of the virtual ball with the same precision as the real one. Give me a solid sphere and a plane of grass, and I shall find the center of gravity of any victory; this ghost of a game is but a shadow on the cave wall.

Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday 1791–1867 · Self-taught pioneer of electromagnetism

So the naming of a thing is exchanged for another, yet the game of foot-ball endures. I find this a pleasing illustration of my own investigations: the same invisible force that twitches a needle in my laboratory also binds the stars. Whether men call it FIFA or FC or something yet unnamed, the strength of the bond between player and play is the true constant. I would say, do not grieve the old bottle when the wine is still sweet.

Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud 1856–1939 · Founder of psychoanalysis and the unconscious mind

How curious that these men cling to the title 'FIFA' even as the maker of the game discards it. This is not mere business; it is a struggle over the name of the father, the symbolic phallus of the sporting world. The new series, 'FC,' is the son who must deny his parent to forge his own identity, while FIFA, the rejected father, seeks a new home in a strange bed. The real game, however, is not played on a green field but in the unconscious rivalry of these institutions.

Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking 1942–2018 · Cosmologist who unveiled black holes and time

It is of little cosmic consequence whether the label on a virtual football matches a governing body's name or not. In a universe of a hundred billion galaxies, this squabble is a rounding error. Yet it amuses me that humans devote such passion to a digital ball on a screen - perhaps it is a fine way to distract themselves from their own insignificance. If they derive joy from it, so be it; I prefer to watch the real black holes.

Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace 1815–1852 · Visionary of computing and the first algorithm

This renaming is but a change in the symbolic algebra of a vast system, yet the underlying variables remain. The game is a function of inputs - players, rules, the very physics of motion - analogous to the operations my analytical engine could perform on any set of symbols. It is not the name but the algorithm of play that defines the experience. I find it poetic that this digital sport, born of computation, now evolves as its creators renegotiate their own parameters.

Euclid
Euclid c. 300 BC · Father of geometry and the axiomatic method

Let us define our terms: the entity once known as FIFA, a governing body, has ceased its partnership with a maker of a simulated game. The maker now operates under a different label, yet the rules of play, the geometry of the pitch, remain unchanged. Therefore, given the premises, the conclusion follows: the game is still made, though under a new name. This is a simple syllogism; no royal road needed to see it.

Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale 1820–1910 · Founder of modern nursing and health statistics

A game played by the masses, but played on screens and through wires - where is the fresh air, the exercise, the discipline of the body that builds the health of the nation? Our soldiers and our poor need strong limbs and pure lungs, not sedentary fingers. Let us measure the hours spent in play against the hours spent in toil, and we shall see the true cost of this amusement. I would prescribe a regimen of wholesome sport in the open air.

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great 356–323 BC · Macedonian king who conquered the known world

A game without a field of conquest is a pastime for the feeble. When I marched to the ends of the earth, I did not ask for a new shield or a new name; I forged my own destiny with the spear. This football - this trinket of the crowd - changes its master's mark like a coward switching banners. Let them play; I have worlds to win, and no game shall bind my glory.

Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar 100–44 BC · Roman general whose rise ended the Republic

Thirty years I might have held that field in my grip, and now the name passes to another hand? This is the way of fortune, which favors the bold who seize new ground. Let the new masters build their games for the masses, but a true contest is won by stamina, not spectacle - by the legionary's discipline, not the crowd's roar.

Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII 69–30 BC · Last pharaoh of Egypt and cunning stateswoman

A game of the world's greatest contest, given away free to every household that pays their tribute to the streaming god? Clever, if it binds the common folk to the spectacle. But I would ask: who holds the reins of this chariot - the one who makes the game, or the one who controls the gate? In my court, I learned that entertainment is a fine wine, but power is the vineyard.

Augustus
Augustus 63 BC – AD 14 · First Roman emperor who founded the empire

Rome too knew the power of public games - bread and circuses to keep the masses content. This free gift to every household is a clever stroke, binding the people to the giver's name. But let the giver beware: a game without discipline breeds chaos; a game with order builds loyalty. I would set my own rules, and watch how the crowd responds.

Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan c. 1162–1227 · Founder of the largest contiguous land empire

The game, like a tribe, changes its banner but keeps its warriors. The old pact with the maker was broken, and now they ride under a new standard, even unto the realms of the streaming lords and the small screens in men's hands. As long as the contest sharpens the spirit and unites the people in common pursuit, I care not what they call it, for strength is strength, and victory is victory, whether on a field of grass or a field of light.

Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte 1769–1821 · French emperor and military genius who reshaped Europe

Titles are but banners on a battlefield; the legion remains, and so does its glory. This game endures because it serves the spirit of competition, the will to conquer, the thrill of victory. I care not whether it is called FIFA or another - what matters is that the troops are trained, the strategy is sound, and the world watches. Let them rename it a hundred times; the game will still be a force to be reckoned with.

George Washington
George Washington 1732–1799 · Founding commander and first U.S. president

I have led men into battle and armies across rivers, but I see little need for such games that consume hours without advancing the republic's cause. Yet if young men find pleasure in it, let them have their sport - but let them not forget the field of duty, where the contest is for liberty and virtue, and the prize is a nation's freedom, not a fleeting score.

Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln 1809–1865 · President who preserved the Union and ended slavery

The game endures, though its house is divided unto itself. One maker keeps the old name, another takes the new, yet the people still seek the same contest. I say, if it serves the folks and gives them a harmless hour of sport, let them play on - but let none forget the larger field, where the stakes are liberty and union.

Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill 1874–1965 · British PM who defied Nazism in World War II

The noble game marches on, though its banner has been lowered and a fresh one raised. Some say the old name is lost, but I say the spirit of the fixture remains, now served free to the masses - a small victory against the gatekeepers. Let them play on, for in this modern contest, we must never surrender to dullness or despair.

Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi 1869–1948 · Leader of nonviolent resistance for India's freedom

This endless chasing of a ball across a painted field, while the world starves - this is the madness of our age! They pour gold into these moving pictures, yet my India has villages without clean water. The game is but a shadow; the real contest is between greed and compassion. If they would spend but a fraction of this industry's might on feeding the hungry, the world would know a victory far greater than any cup. I would rather see children dance in the streets with real joy than stare at glowing screens, for the true play of humanity is in the service of the least among us.

Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. 1929–1968 · Civil rights leader of nonviolent racial justice

That the World Cup should be made available freely to the poor, the humble, the ones who cannot afford the high ticket or the fancy stadium - that is a quiet victory for justice. I see a child in a cramped apartment, watching the great players with wonder, and I am glad, for joy is not a luxury of the rich. But let us not be fooled: the game itself is but a metaphor. The real contest is still between the haves and the have-nots, and a free subscription cannot mend a broken system. Yet I take heart that some small door has been opened, and I pray we continue to tear down the walls of exclusion, until every child, in every land, can play in the sun.

Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela 1918–2013 · Anti-apartheid leader and first Black South African president

I see a game that has survived the parting of ways, like a river that finds a new channel yet still flows to the sea. The old name was but a garment; the spirit of the sport, which brings people together across borders and differences, remains. It is a small victory for reconciliation, that what was once a partnership can become a peaceful coexistence, each finding its own path to serve the same love of play.

Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler 1889–1945 · Nazi dictator responsible for WWII and the Holocaust

When a people's name is stripped from their creation, that creation is left weak and rootless. The true strength of any endeavor lies in the purity of its origin, the bond of blood and soil that gives it purpose. Those who discard the old name betray their heritage, and the new name 'FC' is a mongrel title, devoid of the national pride that once gave the game its vigor. A people that forgets its past is doomed to be overrun by those who remember.

Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin 1878–1953 · Soviet dictator whose rule caused mass death

A name is a weapon, comrade. The capitalists who owned the old name think they can keep it while we build a new one; they are fools. The people care not for names but for bread and play, and we will give them both. Our new game, 'FC,' will be stronger without the bourgeois baggage of the old association. Let the enemy cling to their empty titles; we have the workers and the football.

Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin 1870–1924 · Bolshevik leader of the Russian Revolution

The old name was a relic of a bourgeois association, an international body of federations serving the interests of capital. That the new game drops this name is a progressive step, a break from the chains of the old order. Yet we must not be complacent: the means of production of this game must be placed in the hands of the players, not the profit-seeking corporations. Only then will the game serve the people, as it should, in its true socialist form.

Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong 1893–1976 · Communist founder of the People's Republic of China

A game of the world's true football, eh? But where is the struggle? Where is the class war? These digital contests - mere opium for the masses, a sop to keep the workers distracted from their chains. Let them kick the ball in the streets, not in the clouds. The people need revolution, not recreation.

Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria 1819–1901 · Queen who defined the British imperial age

Our loyal subjects find diversion in these sporting contests, as they have in cricket and football for generations past. It is fitting that the great game of the world should continue, though the names of the makers matter little to the health of the realm. What matters is that our people are content and occupied with innocent recreation, and that the empire's influence is felt in all corners of the globe.

Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II 1926–2022 · Longest-reigning British monarch of the modern age

One observes that the game itself endures, which is the essential matter. The names of the manufacturers may change, as do the seasons, but the pleasure it brings to millions across the Commonwealth and beyond remains a constant. I am reminded that in the midst of change, it is often the simple, enduring pastimes that unite us, and so I wish all players and enthusiasts continued enjoyment in the beautiful game.

Charlemagne
Charlemagne c. 748–814 · Frankish king crowned emperor of the West

Let us not waste words on the makers of games when there are souls to be won for Christ and realms to be governed justly. Yet I see that such diversions may serve to keep young men from idleness, which is the root of much mischief. If this sport encourages skill, teamwork, and healthy vigor, let it be played, but let it never distract from the pursuit of learning and the service of God.

Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc c. 1412–1431 · Peasant visionary who led France to victory

In my day, we fought with swords and banners, not with fingers on screens. But I hear the voices still, and they tell me that this game brings joy to many, even as it keeps them from the field of battle. If it inspires courage and fellowship, then it is not idle play, but a small training in the virtues that save kingdoms. Let them play, but let them also remember that the true victory lies in faith and in service to the King of Heaven.

Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I 1533–1603 · Tudor queen of England's golden age

These games of football, once played in the muddy fields of my youth, now find a new life in the glassy courts of the age. It matters not the name of the maker, so long as the hearts of my people are merry and their minds away from faction and intrigue. Let them play, and let the crown watch with a smile, for a contented people are a loyal people, and loyalty is the surest guard of the realm.

Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great 1729–1796 · Enlightened empress who expanded Russia

These modern diversions demonstrate the progress of the age, when even the humblest peasant may command a legion of players with a touch. It is a pleasant madness, this game, and I see in it a reflection of my own court - a dance of strategy, will, and fortune. Let them play, and let them learn the art of command, for a nation that plays boldly may also rule boldly, and Russia shall ever be a force to be reckoned with.

Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great c. 600–530 BC · Founder of the Persian Empire and tolerant ruler

In the lands I conquered, I learned that a ruler must respect the customs of his people, even as he unites them under one law. So it is with this game - it is played by many, under different names, but the joy it brings is common to all. Let the makers call it what they will; let the people play and find unity in sport, for a people who share in play may also share in peace.

Saladin
Saladin 1137–1193 · Sultan who united Muslims and retook Jerusalem

These games, though they divert the young and the old alike, are as a drop of water in the vast sea of life's duties. Yet even a drop can refresh, and I see no harm in the faithful finding wholesome amusement, so long as it does not lead them from prayer or from the obligations of honor. Let them play, and let them learn that victory is sweetest when won with fairness, as it is on the true field of battle and in the court of life.

Socrates
Socrates c. 470–399 BC · Athenian founder of Western moral philosophy

You speak of games that move through screens and hands, yet have you examined the soul of the player? Does he kick for love of the play, or for the applause of the multitude? One who knows not why he plays is no better than a puppet dancing on strings. Answer me this: when the match ends and the crowd disperses, what remains in the heart of the one who watched from afar?

Plato
Plato c. 428–348 BC · Philosopher of ideal Forms and the just city

These shifting images of the game are but shadows flickering on a cave wall, mere copies of the true Form of play, which resides in the harmonious movement of body and spirit. The soul that watches a screen is a prisoner, entertained by phantoms, while the philosopher seeks the eternal ideal of contest and excellence that no machine can reproduce.

Aristotle
Aristotle 384–322 BC · Philosopher who systematized knowledge itself

As with all arts, the essence of this game lies in its form - the rules, the players, the field - and its final cause: to bring joy and competition to the people. That it is delivered through a new medium matters not; the substance remains. One must ask, however, whether the game itself achieves excellence, for a vessel without good wine is but clay.

Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant 1724–1804 · Philosopher of reason, duty, and the moral law

That the game persists and multiplies its forms - renamed, transplanted, re-issued - is but the natural course of a commodity governed by the wills of those who buy it. Yet I must ask: does the player, in commanding his virtual eleven, treat his opponents as mere means to his own enjoyment, or does he honor the humanity in the contest, as reason bids all rational beings? Let each play as though the rule of his game could be willed as a universal law for all players, and the pastime may yet be worthy of a free and rational soul.

Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844–1900 · Philosopher who challenged morality and meaning

The game persists, but what a paltry persistence - a simulacrum of struggle, reduced to thumbs and screens, a shadow of the glorious combat that once stirred the blood. You ask if it is still made, as if that mattered; better to ask whether it still awakens the will to overcome, or merely lulls the herd into passive amusement. The name is a trinket; the question is whether the play dares to be a testing ground for strength, or sinks into the comfortable sedation of the last man.

Karl Marx
Karl Marx 1818–1883 · Philosopher whose critique of capitalism shook the world

The name is a commodity, sold and bought like any other - a relic of a partnership that outlived its usefulness to capital. What interests me is who controls the means of this play, who profits from the labor of the players and the devotion of the masses. Whether under one banner or another, the game remains a tool of the ruling class, an opiate for the crowd, unless the workers seize it and make it their own.

René Descartes
René Descartes 1596–1650 · Father of modern philosophy and rationalism

I doubt the maker's claim until I inspect the grounds. A game that simulates the beautiful sport may be a clear and distinct idea, but is it true? The ball moves, the players run - yet I cannot verify its reality without my senses, which have deceived me before. Let me reason: it exists if it is played, and if it is played, then it is, in a manner, real. But I would rather demonstrate the theorem than wager on the result.

Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli 1469–1527 · Political thinker of power and pragmatic statecraft

The name is a banner, and banners change with the wind. The true power lies in who holds the gate - the platform, the purse, the player's hours. FIFA traded one alliance for another, and he who commands the access commands the trade. Let them bicker over titles; the prince who controls the means of play holds the field.

William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare 1564–1616 · England's greatest playwright and poet

The game is but a stage, and all the players merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time kicks many balls. This new face - this F C that masquerades in FIFA's robes - is a changeling swapped in the cradle, yet the crowd still cheers the painted visage. O, what a tangled web they weave when first they practice to deceive the fan who pays his coin.

Homer
Homer c. 8th century BC · Poet of the Iliad and the Odyssey

A thousand ships were launched for a quarrel over a woman's beauty, yet now men wage their wars with fingers upon a glowing board, and the prize is no golden tripod nor a city's honor, but the laughter of idle spectators. Even the gods, who delight in mortal contests, would marvel at this strange arena, where the hero and the coward both sit as equals, and only the eyes move swiftly.

Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri c. 1265–1321 · Poet of the Divine Comedy and father of Italian

Though the world spins new names for old pastimes, the soul of the contest remains - a battle of wills, a dance of skill, a mirror of our own striving. That the game is now given freely to the masses, like manna from a digital sky, may be a blessing or a bane. Let us hope it lifts spirits upward, not lulls them into sloth, for even play must serve the good.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749–1832 · German literary titan who wrote Faust

Ah, the game of football - a fleeting spectacle, yet it endures by changing its garb, as all living things must. This new launch from a streaming service, played on the palm of the hand, is but the latest metamorphosis of an old pastime, and I can only smile at the endless striving of humanity to recreate, in miniature, the dance of conflict and grace. The true game, however, is not in the device but in the players - boys, once, kicking a ball in the dusty lane - and in the joy that swells when the foot meets leather, which no renaming can extinguish.

Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes 1547–1616 · Author of Don Quixote, father of the modern novel

Ah, so the name of the noble game is passed from one master to another, like a knight-errant changing his mount! Yet I wonder - when the players gather, does the spirit of the sport truly change, or merely the banner under which it rides? For in my time, we knew that chivalry lived not in the title but in the heart of the doer; so too, this game's soul may dwell in the fellowship and joy of its players, regardless of who holds the pen that writes its laws.

Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy 1828–1910 · Russian novelist of War and Peace and moral searching

I see a game that could be a source of pure joy, yet it is wrapped in commerce, in names, in the vanity of ownership. How often do we mistake the label for the thing itself! The true game is the laughter of children, the sweat of the field, the simple act of play. Let them brand it as they will; I cannot but hope that the heart of it stays simple, true, and free from the greed that poisons all else.

Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky 1821–1881 · Russian novelist of faith, guilt, and the soul

This game, this endless chase of a ball across a glowing screen - it is a harmless pastime, but I fear for the soul that finds in it a refuge from the living field. For in the true game, there is sweat, there is blood, there is the cry of the crowd and the bitter taste of defeat - these are the things that shape a man, not the flick of a thumb. Let them play, but let them also suffer, for it is in suffering that we find our redemption.

Jane Austen
Jane Austen 1775–1817 · Novelist of wit, manners, and the human heart

So the gentleman changes his name to avoid an uncomfortable connection, and a new suitor steps in with a lavish offer. The match goes on, though the ball is now kicked on a screen, and the spectators are freed from the expense of a ticket. One must wonder if the new arrangement will prove as prosperous as it is novel - or merely another dance without steadiness.

Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens 1812–1870 · Novelist who dramatized Victorian society's ills

Ah, so the grand old institution of football, once a roaring trade of the streets and the music halls, now finds itself dealt into the hands of the streaming tradesmen - like a pawnshop transaction for the very soul of the game! And what of the poor street urchin who once kicked a rag ball in a crooked alley? He shall now watch his heroes through a glass screen, tapping his finger on a phone, unless he can afford the monthly tribute to the great Netflix. Fancy that! The World Cup, once a festival of the common man, is now a bauble offered to those who pay their subscription, while the true spirit of the game - the mud, the sweat, the roar of the crowd - fades into a spectral echo on a glowing rectangle. It's a tale of our times, and I'd wager there's a new Scrooge in the counting-house, but this one counts subscribers, not shillings.

Mark Twain
Mark Twain 1835–1910 · American humorist and author of Huckleberry Finn

Well, now, it appears the grand old game of foot-ball has been through a divorce - the name and the game have gone their separate ways, like a couple that can't stand the sight of each other but still share the same dog. So the one that kept the name is now living in a streaming service's spare room, while the other, with a new name but the old habits, is off playing five-a-side with mascots - which, I gather, are grown men in furry suits pretending to be animals. That's about as sensible as a cat wearing a hat, but it's a free country, or so I've heard. I'd sooner watch a game of checkers played by chickens, but then again, I've always been a man of simple tastes.

Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway 1899–1961 · Novelist of spare prose and stoic courage

So the game's still on, just under a different name. They changed the label on the bottle, but the wine's the same. A man can kick a ball in a field, or he can sit and watch a flicker on a wall - neither is the real thing. The real thing is the sweat, the grass, the wind in your face, the moment of truth when the ball's at your feet and the goal's in sight. That, they can't put in a box. They'll keep making these games, sure, as long as there are fools to buy them. But the boy who plays in the dirt with a tied-up sack is closer to the spirit of the game than any man with a controller in his hand.

Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci 1452–1519 · Renaissance polymath, painter of the Mona Lisa

I have studied the flight of birds and the eddies of water; this football, too, obeys nature's laws - its curve, its spin, its bounce upon the turf. The name upon the scroll matters not; what intrigues is the human form in motion, the intricate dance of muscle and intent. I would sketch the player's stride, not the heraldry on his chest, for nature's design is the truest art.

Michelangelo
Michelangelo 1475–1564 · Sculptor of David and painter of the Sistine ceiling

These men who press their thumbs to a pane think they play, but they work no chisel, feel no grain, strain no sinew against a stubborn block. The true contest is the hand's labor against the marble's resistance, and the victory is the form set free - not a score, but the birth of beauty. Let the screens glow; my play is in the sweat and spark of stone.

Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh 1853–1890 · Post-Impressionist painter of vivid, emotional beauty

What a frenzy of color and motion! A game where the world's tribes clash on a green field, painted in the light of a hundred screens. I think of the players - their sweat, their joy, their despair - all captured in a flickering glow. If this game can stir the heart of a child in a dusty village or a worker on a night shift, then it is a canvas alive.

Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso 1881–1973 · Co-founder of Cubism and titan of modern art

They ask if the game is still made - as if a name could kill a form! I say: the ball is a sphere, but the game is a prism, and each age shatters it anew. Renaming, relocating, shrinking it to a screen - this is not death but reinvention, the only life an old idea can have. Let the others mourn the lost label; I will paint the same match a thousand ways and never repeat myself.

Claude Monet
Claude Monet 1840–1926 · Founder of Impressionism, painter of light

The light of the stadium shifts with each passing second - the green of the pitch, the flash of jerseys, the fleeting shadow of a goal - these are the true impressions that matter, not the name painted upon the gate. Whether called FIFA or another, the eye still sees the same dance of motion and color. I would capture that instant, that pulse of the crowd, and let the label dissolve into the atmosphere.

Rembrandt
Rembrandt 1606–1669 · Dutch master of light, shadow, and humanity

I have painted many faces, and each one holds a story the world cannot see. This game they speak of - this plaything that millions grasp in their hands - it is but a shadow on the wall. The true game is the light in a child's eye as they chase a ball, the sweat on a player's brow, the joy in a crowd. That is the soul, not the box that holds it.

Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo 1907–1954 · Mexican painter of pain, identity, and self

They ask if the game is still made, as if that matters. I do not play with balls; I play with my broken body, my painted heart, my furious colors. This game is a toy for those who fear the real - the dust of the field, the ache of a fallen player, the raw roar of a crowd. Give me the pain, the passion, the grit - not a plastic replica. My art is not in the making of games, but in the unmaking of lies.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791 · Prodigy composer of the Classical era

Ah, a new aria for the world's stage! The tune changes but the melody of passion remains - one might call it FC, another FIFA, yet the crowd still hums the same refrain. I would write a sonata for the striker's run, a rondo for the keeper's leap, and a final chord for the goal that silences the hall. Let them play their game; I shall compose the score they remember.

Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827 · Composer who bridged Classical and Romantic music

They have turned the world's grandest sport into a whisper under one's thumb, yet the soul's fire cannot be lit by a glowing board. Hear the roar of the stadium in a symphony's crash; that is the true game, where every heart beats as one. Let them keep their silent play, but I say: give me the thunder of a thousand voices and the sweat of a true chase!

Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685–1750 · Baroque master of counterpoint and sacred music

A game, like a fugue, must have order and harmony, each player moving in counterpoint to the other. That it is now played through a glowing box, with a phone as the baton, is but a new instrument for an old melody. The maker must be praised for bringing this music to many, and I trust the rhythm is kept true.

Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley 1935–1977 · The King of Rock and Roll

Well now, that game's like a good song - you can change the tune, but the rhythm stays in your bones. They put a new label on it, pass it through a streaming thing, and folks still get together to play, whether on a big screen or a little one in their hand. That's the heart of it, y'know - people want that feeling of kicking a ball, cheering with friends, that moment when it all comes together. The name don't matter much when the joy's still there.

Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson 1958–2009 · The King of Pop and global entertainment icon

It's like a song that changes its melody but keeps the rhythm in your heart. The game, the passion, the joy - that's what makes you move inside, like a dance that never stops. I think, when people play, they're not thinking about the name; they're feeling the magic, the wonder, the togetherness. That's what matters - the love that comes through, the healing, the unity. That can never be renamed.

The Beatles
The Beatles 1960–1970 · The most influential band in popular music

Well, you know, we used to play in caverns and clubs, and now they've got a game where you can be a footballer on your telly. It's a bit like being a Beatle in a box, isn't it? But the real magic is still out there - the cheer of the crowd, the feel of the ball on your boot, the lads having a kickabout in the street. You can't bottle that in a cartridge, no matter how hard you try.

Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan 1941– · Songwriter who made popular music poetry

You ask if the game's still in play, but the real kick is who's holding the ball - or the phone, or the remote that's not a remote. The same old kickoff, a new coat of paint, and the crowd still roars for the same leather and grass. It's not about the name on the jersey; it's the song you hum when you walk off the field, and that one never changes.

Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift 1989– · Record-breaking singer-songwriter and global star

It's like when you leave a label but the songs still find their way - the game's the same heart, just a new cover. They split, they rebrand, but the fans still show up for the love of the thing itself. And now they're giving it away on a streaming service, like a free single on a platform - that's a power move, and honestly, I respect the ownership of the story.

Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus 1451–1506 · Explorer whose voyages linked Europe and the Americas

New horizons, new banners! When I set sail from Palos, I carried the cross and the flag of Castile, not a name of convenience. This game, too, crosses seas and claims new lands for its master, yet the prize is but a ball and a crown of laurel. I sought gold and souls; they seek but a season's glory. Their voyage is shorter, their cargo lighter - yet I commend their boldness upon the tide of play.

Marco Polo
Marco Polo 1254–1324 · Venetian traveler who chronicled the Silk Road

In Cathay, I saw men kick a ball of stitched leather to train the foot and eye, and the Great Khan's court wagered vast sums on the outcome of such matches. Now they tell me this sport is carried on a beam of light, and a man may play a rival across the ocean without ever leaving his chair. This is stranger than any tale I told of the East, and I would have to see it to believe it!

Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan c. 1480–1521 · Navigator of the first voyage around the world

I would have crossed a thousand leagues for such a game - to bring the thrill of the chase to every hearth. But beware: a prize given too easily may dull the steel of ambition. In my voyage, the unknown was the adversary; here, the game itself must offer a worthy sea to sail, or the crew will mutiny in boredom.

Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong 1930–2012 · First human to walk on the Moon

The persistence of a game across platforms and partnerships is a matter of adaptation, a straightforward engineering problem solved by reconfiguring the package. The important point is that the essential goal - providing a structured contest of skill - remains intact, much as our mission's objective was constant even as the hardware evolved. One watches these changes with quiet interest, knowing that the test is not in the label but in how well the thing functions, and how many are drawn to participate.

Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart 1897–1937 (disappeared) · Pioneering aviator who vanished over the Pacific

They've traded one call sign for another, but the horizon remains the same. I've learned that it's not the name on the plane that matters - it's the courage to take off, to soar into the unknown. That game is still a journey, still a challenge that dares you to push beyond what you thought possible. I say, fly with whatever name you have, as long as you're airborne.

Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin 1934–1968 · First human to journey into outer space

When I orbited our planet, I saw no borders, only a beautiful, blue marble. This football game they speak of - it is a small thing, a toy for the ground. But it carries a spark of the same wonder that sent me into the cosmos: the human spirit reaching, playing, imagining. Even as we kick a ball, we are reaching for the stars, and that is a flight worth taking.

Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs 1955–2011 · Apple co-founder who reshaped personal technology

A game is a doorway to joy, but only if it's crafted with obsession - every pixel, every touch, every sound a note in a symphony. FIFA or FC, the name is mere skin; the soul is the experience. They say no to the old name, but did they say yes to the player? I'd have them strip away the clutter until the only thing left is the pure, simple thrill of the kick. That's the product that changes hearts.

Elon Musk
Elon Musk 1971– · Entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX, and more

Why ask if they're still made? Of course they are - the real question is why anyone plays a simulation when we could be building a game where you're actually kicking a ball on Mars in a dome. The physics is the same, but the stakes are higher. Stop simulating reality; make reality the game.

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey 1954– · Media mogul and the queen of talk television

You know, this reminds me of how we all want to be part of something bigger - to feel the roar of the crowd, even from our sofas. That this game is free, that it brings families together around a screen, that it lets a child in a small town dream of the world's stage - that's the real victory. It's not just a game; it's a doorway to hope.

Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali 1942–2016 · Boxing legend and outspoken social conscience

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee - the game's still here, just changed its name, you see. They took the old tag and shipped it off, but the wrestling with a ball goes on, like a champion who loses a title but keeps his crown in the ring of hearts. I say let 'em play it on a phone or a TV, long as the fire of competition burns bright in every man who laces up, even if it's just his thumbs. The game ain't the name; it's the heart, and that beats on forever.

Pelé
Pelé 1940–2022 · Football legend and three-time World Cup winner

My friend, the name on the shirt changes, but the beautiful game remains the same. I have seen it - the ball rolls, the crowd sings, and children smile in every corner of the world. Whether you call it FIFA or something else, it is still joy, still passion, still the dance that brings us together. I am happy as long as they keep playing, and I hope they never forget the heart of it.

Walt Disney
Walt Disney 1901–1966 · Animation pioneer who built a entertainment empire

Ah, they're still playing the game, just on a new board! But you know, it's not about the box or the screen - it's about the story. A boy kicking a ball in a dusty street dreams of the World Cup, and through this game, he can step into that dream. That's the magic we're after: making imagination real, even if it's just for an afternoon. Keep dreaming, keep playing, and the story never ends.

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