GOALS Enters Open Beta on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation
Free-to-play football game built for responsive online play now available worldwide
Open Beta Now Live#
GOALS entered open beta on March 13, 2026. The free-to-play football game is now available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, giving players worldwide their first chance to experience the title ahead of its full 1.0 launch planned before the 2026 World Cup.
This marks a significant milestone for a project that's been in development for several years, positioning itself as a direct competitor to EA Sports FC and eFootball. The timing is strategic: launching before the World Cup gives GOALS a chance to capture attention during peak football season, when interest in the sport (and football games) traditionally spikes.
Built for Online Play#
Developed by a Stockholm-based studio led by Andreas Thorstensson, an esports veteran and entrepreneur, GOALS focuses on three core pillars: gameplay, online performance, and accessibility. The game uses proprietary SENTEC simulation and rollback networking technology designed to reduce online delay and deliver more responsive internet play.
For context, rollback netcode has become the gold standard in competitive fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Guilty Gear Strive, where frame-perfect inputs matter. Applying this technology to football games could be transformative. Traditional football titles have long struggled with input delay and sluggish responsiveness in online matches, issues that become especially frustrating in competitive modes where split-second decisions determine outcomes. If GOALS can deliver on its promise of reduced latency, it could fundamentally change how online football games feel to play.
"We know we're stepping into a genre with decades of history and passionate players behind it. That's exactly what motivates us," Thorstensson said. "We think football games can be faster, fairer, and more responsive online. Open beta is where players test that for themselves, and help us build the future of football games."
Unlike traditional football titles adapted for online modes, GOALS was built from the ground up with netcode and online playability as primary design considerations. This philosophy mirrors what Rocket League did for car-based football: prioritize tight, responsive controls and reliable online performance above all else. The difference is that GOALS is attempting this with a full simulation football experience rather than an arcade hybrid.
The open beta period will allow the development team to gather player feedback and refine the experience before the full release. This approach has become increasingly common in competitive multiplayer games, where community testing can identify balance issues, exploits, and pain points that internal QA might miss. Games like Valorant and Apex Legends used extended beta periods to fine-tune their core mechanics before launch, and GOALS appears to be following a similar playbook.
Testing Phase#
The open beta gives players an opportunity to evaluate the game's approach to online football and contribute to its ongoing development. With the 1.0 launch scheduled ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the studio has set a clear timeline for bringing the project out of beta.
The free-to-play model is worth noting here. While EA Sports FC remains a premium annual release, GOALS is betting that a F2P approach (likely monetized through cosmetics and battle passes, though specifics haven't been detailed) can attract a larger player base. This strategy has worked for games like Fortnite and Warzone, but it remains to be seen whether football fans will embrace it or prefer the traditional buy-once model.
The open beta also serves as a stress test for the game's infrastructure. Handling thousands of concurrent players across multiple platforms while maintaining the low-latency experience GOALS promises is no small technical feat. Early player reports about server stability, matchmaking times, and actual in-game responsiveness will be critical in determining whether the game can deliver on its core promise.
Have you tried the GOALS open beta yet? How does the online performance compare to other football games you've played? Does the rollback netcode make a noticeable difference, or does it still feel like the same input delay issues that plague the competition?
