Former Fox Engine Lead Joins Netflix's FIFA Development

The technical side of the new FIFA-licensed game from Netflix will be overseen by the former head of the Fox Engine—the engine used to create Metal Gear Solid V and Konami's football projects.

Julien Merceron has joined the development. He currently holds the position of Technical Director at the studio Delphi Interactive.

Merceron has built a highly impressive career portfolio. He has worked at Konami, Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Ubisoft, and IO Interactive. At Konami, he was responsible for all the company's key technological decisions and oversaw the Fox Engine, which was used for many years in Pro Evolution Soccer and eFootball.

Delphi Interactive is essentially rebooting the FIFA series from scratch—the brand is no longer tied to EA Sports. The studio is collaborating with Refactor Games, the creators of Football Simulator, who are based at Delphi's office in Los Angeles.

According to Merceron, both teams value small but strong collectives and want to return to the principles that made classic football games memorable for their feel and gameplay.

The project's Executive Producer, Theodor Tang-Peronard, added that Merceron is known for prioritizing "fun and the feeling of the game" over dry simulation. This approach, he says, will help make the new FIFA accessible to a broad audience while retaining depth.

The "football game" from Netflix will launch this summer, just in time for the World Cup. The project is designed for streaming on TVs, with smartphones being used as controllers. All subscribers of the "red" service will have access to the game.