China removes Mbappé from eFootball and FC Online: when memes outweigh goals

Kylian Mbappé will no longer appear in the Chinese versions of eFootball and FC Online. According to Movistar eSports, the decision is tied to the flood of memes circulating online with the French striker as the star, a trend that has cost him dearly, to the point of getting him dropped from two of the most popular football games in that market.

This is not a simple card change or a ratings downgrade. We are talking about erasing one of the most high-profile footballers on the planet from a video game for reasons that have nothing to do with what he does on the pitch. For anyone competing in eFootball or following the FC Online circuit, the case opens an uncomfortable debate about who decides which players exist inside a game and by what criteria.

What you need to know

• Two games affected: Mbappé will be removed from eFootball and FC Online, but only in their versions for China.
• The reason is the memes: the source points to the viral jokes about the Frenchman as the driver behind the move.
• It is not a sporting sanction: nothing in the published report links the removal to injuries, licensing issues or disputes with his club.
• Other regions stay the same: as far as is known, the player will remain available in the global versions of both titles.
• Many questions remain open: Movistar eSports is the basis for this report and, for now, there are no details about timelines or compensation for those who already had him.

What changes and who it affects

eFootball, by Konami, and FC Online, Electronic Arts' free-to-play football game for PC, have dedicated editions for the Chinese market that run under their own rules. In that ecosystem it is common for content to be adapted to local sensibilities, but removing an active, top-tier footballer is a far more drastic step than tweaking a crest or changing a commercial name.

The ones directly hurt are Chinese players who built their squads around the Frenchman. In both titles, landing a card of that level takes time, luck or money, and suddenly that piece vanishes without the user having done anything. The published report does not clarify whether there will be refunds, replacements or a transition period, and that very silence is what worries the competitive community the most.

A precedent worth watching

The most striking part is not the name but the reasoning. If a meme trend can pull a player out of an official video game, the message to the community is that any footballer's presence on the roster depends on factors unrelated to the sport or to the game itself. Today it is Mbappé in China; tomorrow it could be any other star in any other market, and the teams competing with those cards have no say in the decision.

Our take

At Underworld Lordz we understand that every region has its own rules and that neither Konami nor EA controls everything that happens in their local versions. But from a competitor's point of view, this is a serious problem. A football game that aspires to have a competitive scene needs stability in its content. If the pool of available players changes for reasons that are not clearly explained, parity between regions breaks down and any comparison between players from different countries becomes complicated.

We are also concerned about the precedent for content creators. A large share of the material produced around eFootball and FC Online revolves around recognisable players: pack openings, themed squads, card comparisons. Removing a figure like Mbappé over a wave of memes is a warning that stars can evaporate overnight, and that pushes people who make a living from that content onto increasingly shaky ground.

And there is a broader reading. Memes have always been part of gaming culture, and for a viral joke to have such concrete consequences on an official product strikes us as disproportionate. Publishers should explain transparently what happened and what they plan to do for affected users. If they do not, the community's trust suffers, and that trust is exactly what holds any competitive scene together.

What do you think?

You may see this as a logical decision within a market that plays by its own rules, or you may view it as a red line that should never be crossed in a competitive game. For us, one thing is clear: we do not like this precedent at all. Do you think publishers should remove a player from a video game over a meme trend, and what would you do if it were your card that disappeared? Let us know in the team chat or on our Discord.