Cristiano Ronaldo makes $40m investment in soccer video game UFL

UFL has received yet another boost as it prepares to hit the market as an alternative to EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) and eFootball. On Tuesday, it announced a $40 million investment from Cristiano Ronaldo, who was already serving as an ambassador.

Developed by Strikerz Inc., UFL has been on the making for a while but it doesn’t have a release date confirmed yet. The game’s launch was postponed in August 2022, while it’s expected to enter a closed testing phase in autumn.

UFL will be a free-to-play soccer video game that may rival the popular installments produced by EA Sports and Konami. Ronaldo’s image may be very helpful for UFL to launch in the market. EA Sports FC 24 has Erling Haaland as its cover star, whereas Lionel Messi is the face of eFootball.

Ronaldo, Strikerz react to CR7’s investment

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this project as UFL can become the new breed in football (soccer) gaming,” Ronaldo said in a statement as he made the financial committment to the video game.

Strikerz, the company that develops UFL, is a brand of XTEN Limited, an international gaming entreprise founded in 2016. Eugene Nashilov, CEO of Strikerz, showed his happiness for having a prominent superstar such as Ronaldo on board.

“Having Cristiano Ronaldo join us as a partner and investor is a significant step forward and an endorsement of our vision to create the leading game for football fans in the world,” he said, via VentureBeat.

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UFL will be available for free across the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles with no mandatory fees, aiming to create a fair mechanism that rewards skill over payments.