Console equivalents to sports are about as common as bad film-game tie-ins that ruin the nostalgia of your favorite movies. It’s hard to say no to living out your dream of pretending to be Michael Jordan without having to actually exercise or admit a lack of talent. So, it’s no surprise that every single sports league under the sun is using console and PC tie-in games as a way to take me – I mean our – money.
So why hasn’t the XFL? It’s one of the biggest American football leagues, after all. Surely it has the funds…?
Well, there are a lot of answers to that. Read on to see us break down the state of the XFL and the game that we almost had.
What is XFL?
It may sound and seem like a typo since it’s similar to NFL, but this is a second edition of the original XFL from 2001, and it was rebuilt back in 2020 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Practically, it’s a relaunch, or we can even say it’s a reboot of something that was, probably, forgotten for all these years.
The current plans are for the league to return one year from now since two years ago, all the games and operations were canceled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Not so good at the beginning, we can say.
They really struggle to get most of the situation, and we all know how difficult it can be, especially when there aren’t a lot of sponsors and investors to promote the new things. On the other hand, earlier this month we’ve all seen the hype among the NFL, and we asked ourselves – what XFL should do, so they can perform better and improve their overall effect over the sports.
Many leagues were saved by their game counterparts, so maybe that’s the answer for XFL too.
We will try to cover that later in this article, as some of the good ideas they can benefit from.
What’s happening with the XFL?
It’s hard to say right now. First, the very same year the whole world was taken over by a virus, and we still have to deal with it. And not just this league, but many aspects of our lives are still affected by the coronavirus. It limits the fund’s access, promotion, organizing games, and events, and even more, people are getting sick, and sadly, some of them die. So, it’s not even weird that a lot of things and businesses are doing badly right now.
The XFL, or Extreme Football League, has been on shaky ground since its closure and subsequent sale to Dwayne Johnson – yes, that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – and his ex-wife turned business partner Dany Garcia in August of 2020. During that time some renovated their homes and The Rock bought a football league. Oh, to be able to indulge oneself!
Since then, there has been an unsuccessful attempt to merge with the Canadian Football League, which, more than anything else, exposed the league’s desperation for income. Despite the merger being proposed as a way to mainly supplement the CFL, they refused. Hmm…interesting.
And in the end, The Rock confirmed that the league was taking a break, since every other industry was slowing down at the time, and would be returning in the spring of 2024. Granted we’re not entirely clear of the problems of 2020 yet, but that’s a suspiciously pessimistic outlook for a guy who’s been fine filming and starring in movies for the past few years even with those problems still relevant. The NFL has since returned, as has a lot of other sporting events, like the Olympics.
Also, the past of this league is also full of scandals and controversies, and yes, we are talking about the 2001 version. So, it’s not really unexpected that the people don’t put a lot of trust into it.
In the past, the whole existence of this league was surrounded by different kinds of scandals, including sexual and alcoholic ones. Probably it was fun also, but it didn’t last long enough so people can understand it completely. And it was never stable enough, compared to the other American leagues. They tried to be like NFL so much, that it was too obvious that they will fail. But, is there any hope for them right now?
Probably they will need to embrace the new concepts of modern time, and of course, to incorporate video games as a part of their franchise. Everyone is doing that, so why not?
The console game we almost had
But the long-term problems didn’t just affect the football players. XFL fans were also horrified to find out that they came very, tantalizingly, close to playing their own XLF tie-in game.
Twitter was hit with a gut-wrenching realization as game designer Joshua Garity informed us all that there was in fact an XFL game on the table, once.
“Speak of the XFL… remember the time that @MaxFootballGame almost had the #XFL in our game before circumstances closed the league down?”
This had already been confirmed by ex-quarterback Doug Flutie in June, but Garity provided the screenshots to prove it. It also proved that the game was being built inside Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football and showed just how far along development had gotten before the season was shut down. It didn’t look as polished as modern-day Madden, but when football plans are stuck playing NCAA Football 2014 to get their fill, you know they wouldn’t care.
With the cancellation of the league’s second inaugural season, the game was dropped, and football fans had to spend the time without the comfort of an official XFL game, whether in reality or in console form. This resulted in some fans deciding to try their luck at top-quality iGaming websites such as newcasinos.com.
Do we still want it?
Well, if the various articles bemoaning the game we almost had are anything to go by, there are a lot of people who still want it. If you were to ask Google, for example, you would hear a resounding “yes”.
Given the effect Madden has had on the industry, with a new game released every year, to miss the opportunity to release an XFL game is …maddening.
As mentioned, football fans are dedicated, and they would have embraced an XFL game simply because they could say it was an XFL game. When they are surviving on the crumbs that the real-life league is giving, an XFL video game would have looked like a feast. Frankly, given how long it will be before the XFL is back to its regular season, you’d think they would have released it just to keep the hype going.
There is still time. Twitter users who reacted to the news asked for months where the new XFL game was. With a little fine-tuning of the graphics, because it’s amazing what a couple of years can do to resolution, gamers can play an upgraded version of the screenshots they already fell in love with.
In the meantime, XFL and Madden fans alike can dust off Madden 20, where a new mod released by the people behind the @XFL2KMod Twitter account has allowed fans to play one of eight teams. The teams on offer are The St. Louis BattleHawks, D.C. Defenders, New York Guardians, Tampa Bay Vipers, Houston Roughnecks, Dallas Renegades, L.A. Wildcats, and Seattle Dragons. A simple switch-up in uniforms has made the XFL video game a reality. Or as close to reality as we can get for now.
Conclusion
Probably, a licensed video game may help the XFL reboot to perform better than the “older brother” who was lost into booze, sex scandals, and improper behavior. Maybe the owners have to listen to the people who suggest this huge step and meet their requirements. Today, one of the most successful ways to run something that is successful is to follow the suggestions of your biggest fans.
So, if they say that maybe a game will take things to a whole new level, probably it’s worth giving a thought.
