FIFA and Los-Angeles-based Mythical Games have released “FIFA Rivals,” a free-to-play mobile football title that debuted on Apple’s App Store and Google Play on 12 June. Less than five weeks after launch, the game climbed to the No. 1 spot in the U.S. App Store rankings, underscoring early appetite for blockchain-enabled sports games. The game runs on Mythical’s Polkadot-powered Mythos Chain, allowing players to mint footballers and equipment as non-fungible tokens that can be traded on the Mythical Market. Collectibles range from standard cards to multi-piece items, such as a five-fragment Lionel Messi that can be forged into a single high-value asset. On-pitch play is structured as first-to-two-goal matches navigated via touch-screen swipes. Mythical executives say the global reach of football could make FIFA Rivals up to 20 times larger than the studio’s earlier hit, NFL Rivals. Chief Executive Officer John Linden added that Mythos Chain is already recording more daily transactions than Ethereum and the next eight blockchains combined, driven largely by a Counter-Strike marketplace even before the new football game scales. Planned updates include additional game modes, esports competitions and partnerships with professional clubs.