Steam Gains Free New Football Game Set To Rival FIFA And EA Sports
Topics: Steam, FIFA, EA Sports FC
Featured Image Credit: GOALS
Topics: Steam, FIFA, EA Sports FC
Our love of the beautiful game shows no sign of going away, but it's fair to say that critics are a bit tired of the typical churn and grind your average FIFA knock-off delivers. Is 2026 the year that finally changes, as another young football upstart makes its way onto the pitch?
While FIFA boldly flew the flag from 1992 until 2022, it underwent a massive rebrand to become EA Sports FC in 2023. That name lives on with the upcoming release of EA Sports FC 27, but for those who want to try something new, one game on Steam claims to do all that and more.
We've seen plenty of FIFA rivals come and go over the years, but away from the eFootball and Football Manager series, GOALS promises to do something different again. Currently available on Steam, the free-to-play title vows to put gameplay first in a game that bills itself as a "fast, responsive football game built for pure skill, real competition, and a global community."
As GOALS’ Steam listing states, it marries instant inputs and custom physics with smarter AI for a football sim that keeps flowing. No paywalls are sure to be another big win for those who are sick of pay-to-win titles.
Better yet, you can lace up your boots with friends because GOALS celebrates crossplay between PC and console in 'one shared ecosystem'.
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Sports fanatics are told that the squad is truly their own, with every player in the game growing over time, experiencing their peaks, and eventually retiring. It sounds like GOALS is taking a leaf out of The Sims' book, claiming that it creates "a living football world that never repeats itself."
That's about as realistic as GOALS gets, and while many of its competitors go for the realism of football you might see in the world, its more cartoonish style is likely to be a love it or loathe it part of the game.
Another USP is the fact that streamers, influencers, and legends can join as 'Originals', meaning GOALS claims to have global appeal with zero licensing barriers and 'endless' possibilities when it comes to who you match with.
Whether you're the actual Kylian Mbappé or just an average Joe wanting to get off the bench, GOALS vows to deliver "high-level play the moment you load in."
If all that wasn't enough, the fact that GOALS is free-to-play is sure to be a big lure.
Namely, GOALS says it's been built around pure skill, with transparent mechanics and competitive balance, hoping to mean that players feel every win and loss more than ever. Whether the team can deliver on this remains to be seen.
Some are already touting GOALS as a free-to-play alternative to the other sporting Goliaths, but as we've seen with many free-to-play titles, these first few months are crucial to whether it can lift the trophy or it's a case of hitting the showers early.
READ MORE: Free Official FIFA Game Drops Baffling New Trailer