Short answers, pulled from the story.
U.S. Gold held the FIFA World Cup video game license from 1986 until Electronic Arts acquired it in 1997. This transfer marked a significant shift in how major sporting events were commercialized through interactive media.
World Cup Carnival arrived on Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC systems just before the 1986 tournament began. U.S. Gold had secured the rights with time to spare but faced internal problems during production.
Konami's Osaka based team known as KCEO developed Jikkyō World Soccer: World Cup France 98 for the Nintendo 64. This version remained exclusive to the Japanese market when released outside Japan.
A new title called FIFA Heroes was announced on the 2nd of October 2025 as the official video game for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Scheduled for release in 2026, it will appear on Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup DLC added to FIFA 18 in May 2018 included all thirty-two participating teams and twelve stadiums without featuring regional qualifying rounds that led up to the tournament.