Sports

Brazilian footballers take on video games in legal battles

FIFA is Brazil's most popular game, but scores of footballers have sued the developers over the use of their names and likenesses

video game football players
Football sim FIFA is a hit in Brazil. Photo: EA Sports

The video game market in Brazil is already the world’s 13th largest, worth over USD 1.5 billion a year according to market research consultancy firms. In a matter of a decade, the industry doubled in size. Projections suggest it could be three times larger in 2030. 

While globally popular freemium battle royale games such as CrossFire, League of Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone have a strong market in Brazil, the country’s best-selling game is EA Sports’ FIFA football sim series. More than six million units have been sold in Brazil since 2014, mainly for Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles.

But while leading football games FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer enjoy a huge market in Brazil — the so-called “land of football” — both games have not exactly enjoyed smooth sailing in South America’s biggest country. Combined, FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer are currently facing over 70 lawsuits in Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Current and retired footballers have sued the games for the alleged misuse of their image. According...

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