sBacon with ice cream, pilchards and custard, Elm… Allison Hammond alongside Dermot O’Leary—these bizarre combinations prove that the oddest pairings can be delightful. However, no one seems to have imagined merging Silent Hill with FIFA 98 before.

Dubbed the “world’s first online survival horror football game,” Fear FA 98 (pronounced horror-FA, akin to FIFA), utilizes knives, rusty scissors, syringes, summons demons, and turns severed heads into footballs, allowing you to perform like Diego Maradona with his infamous “handball.”

“I claim it’s just football, but it’s more than that,” says Jacob Jazz, a 55-year-old solo developer. “I’ve blended survival horror games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil with FIFA and Efootball’s Eleven gameplay. [Pro Evolution Soccer in the UK]. You must play soccer to progress in the storyline of this classic survival horror game.”

The storyline unfolds as follows: the Earth’s core transforms into a massive, twisted snake nest due to an event called Transmaylet, marking the onset of a monster invasion from a forbidden civilization. Now, the world’s insides are fueled by endless terror—just like the atmosphere at Old Trafford, with the Manchester Derby on the horizon. Various game modes will include single-player, third-person horror, story, competitive, and online. In any mode, you can equip your team with serial killers, sectorians, and psychotic nurses to compete in stadiums such as Backroom, Sematary Hill, and Chainsaw United. This is certainly no ordinary kickabout in the park.

Fear FA 98 took a year to develop, achieving its Kickstarter goal of €5,000 (£4,300) ahead of its anticipated Halloween 2025 release on Steam. If Jazz can secure further investments, ports for Switch, Xbox, and PS5 may follow. The standalone tie-in, Nike Mare 98—featuring zombies playing soccer in Nike trainers—is already available for download on PC.

With 17 years of game development under his belt, Jazz has previously created the Baobabs Mausoleum Horror series and the 8-bit retro adventure Flamingo’s Creek, which can be found on Steam, Xbox, and PS4. His upcoming project, the horror game Tamarindos Freak Dinner, is set to release soon. Fear FA 98 could elevate his presence in the gaming industry significantly.