Esports: Google's FIFA World Cup mini-game gives a boost to football in India

In such situations, Google typically celebrates or encapsulates its users with a doodle, a unique animation, or sometimes games on the homepage. 

But the company has designed a multiplayer game around it that allows fans to compete and score goals against each other. Although Google didn't feature it on the keyword blog highlighting the update, the VP of Engineering at Google tweeted the news. 

Users can Google [world cup] on their phones and tap the soccer ball to play the game. Through the engaging multiplayer game, Google has aimed to increase fan activity across the platform. 

Millions of people have already reported having used it. The mini-cup is divided into mini-games for every match in the tournament, and fans from either team shoot goals to increase their squad's tally. 

Despite having the tag of multiplayer, it has traits of a single-player with an MMO element, unlike other multiplayer Doodle games such as 1v1 in the form of Petanque and 4v4 for a Halloween-inspired competition.

How is it changing Google news to an animation and fantasy domain?

Although the mini-cup game is integrated into the Doodles platform, it is more hidden than a standard mini-game on the search engine platform. Besides the game, Google has introduced a Doodle of cleats passing a ball around. 

Users can search for world cup updates on the mobile version of Google, and the page will redirect to an interactive world of FIFA laden with detailed World Cup news, match updates, games, and players across Search and YouTube. 

Google now serves as a multi-purpose domain celebrating the FIFA World Cup 2022, and adding the mini-cup has further contributed to it. 

So it won't be an exaggeration to say that the update has turned Google news into an animation and fantasy domain. Dubbed a mini-cup, the game is accessible to both iOS and Android users. 

It appears when a user searches 'World Cup' in Google Chrome, after which detailed information about the upcoming matches, along with a blue-colored football in the bottom right corner, appears. 

A tap on the blue football directs users to a vibrant and animated screen where the game can be started after choosing the desired team and match. 

In addition, users can look at the global standings of the goals tally representing a particular team's fans. The count gets updated in real-time, and the results of the goals netted by fans in previous matches can also be checked.