This year, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we will see a new FIFA game accompanying it with an exclusive launch through Netflix games. The developer is Delpha Interactive, a publisher that’s directly partnering with IO Interactive to create the upcoming James Bond 007 First Light game. For the upcoming Netflix FIFA game, development is supported through “best-in-class co-development and outsourcing partners”, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.
To be more specific, Delphi will be relying on Refactor Games, a studio that’s part Delphi-owned and funded by a Californian venture capital firm called A16z. CEO Casper Daugaard states that the publishing industry is “slow, risk-averse, and heavily concentrated”. He criticizes publishers for relying on a handful of IPs.
I mean, sure, he’s not wrong, but exactly what is Delphi doing differently? FIFA is one of the biggest staples in gaming, and James Bond was a big hitter in the 90s and early 2000s with GoldenEye and Everything or Nothing. Bringing back old IPs isn’t exactly being “risk-averse.”
Big Claims, But Nothing We Haven’t Heard Before
Delphi Interactive is a publisher/games firm based out of LA, and it was founded in 2020. The founder, Casper Daugaard, told GamesIndustry.biz that the company is responsible for licensing, providing funding, and developing or publishing games built around recognizable IP. Here’s a quote from the CEO:
“We do it outside the traditional publisher model, which we lovingly refer to as the ‘publisher industrial complex”
Apologies if I sound skeptical of this whole “publisher industrial complex” rhetoric, but it’s difficult to think of Delphi as a scrappy, bold outsider when it’s essentially playing by the same rules: using safe, huge brand names to generate revenue. The upcoming FIFA and 007 games will do well even if they’re only half-decent, and that’s mainly because of the names attached to them.
Daugard also called out publishers for being slow, and here’s their plan with FIFA:
“Based on what we learned from 007, we decided to build more internal development and publishing capabilities at Delphi as we embark on new projects, such as FIFA.”
Sounds great, but doesn’t really say much, does it? Part of the reason I’m skeptical is that Delphi doesn’t really have a track record yet. Both of the games they’re working on are yet to be released, so only time will tell if these big corporate claims actually hold some weight.
