Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo has added his name to the list of backers for UFL, a new free-to-play football video game.
Ronaldo is part of a consortium investing US$40 million into the new game, which developer StrikerZ Inc says will be ‘fair-to-play’ with a skill-first approach and no pay-to-win options.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star, who is Instagram’s most popular account at 614 million followers, will help with the development of the game alongside his investment, said the statement.
Ronaldo added: “I’m thrilled to be a part of this project as UFL can become the new breed in football gaming.”
Eugene Nashilov, chief executive of StrikerZ, said: “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.”
No official release date has been announced, though closed testing began this autumn. The game will launch on the PlayStation5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles.
Electronic Arts’ FIFA series is the best-selling football game with nearly 300 million copies sold.
However, FIFA and EA ended their relationship at the start of 2023 with the series now called EA Sports FC.
Shares in EA were unchanged at US$138.95 ahead of the US stock market opening.