Hyundai Motor Company officially announced an innovative collaboration with the developer Top Eleven: Be a Football Manager to present an in-game event titled ‘Hyundai NEXT Cup Tour’. This step marks Hyundai's efforts to expand its reach branding them into the realm of mobile football management that has millions of active players worldwide.
This special event is scheduled to be short but intense, starting from 23 April to 2 Mei 2026. The launch momentum was deliberately chosen to coincide with the 16th anniversary celebration Top Eleven, where the level of participation and enthusiasm of the player community is usually at its highest.
Through this initiative, Hyundai seeks to go beyond the physical confines of stadiums by creating more personalized digital interactions for football fans. This strategy reflects the company's ambition to remain relevant in the eyes of a younger, tech-savvy audience, who enjoy sports through their handheld devices.
Hyundai executives emphasized that football has been a pillar of the brand's communications for more than two decades. This collaboration is considered a new chapter that transforms the energy of gridiron competition into an interactive experience that challenges the creativity and strategy of virtual team managers.
In the game scenario, ‘Hyundai NEXT Cup Tour’ challenges players to complete 10 Sequential missions spread across different countries. Interesting, This virtual tour starts from Indonesia as the starting point, then across Hyundai's other major global markets, and closed in the United States as a symbol of the brand's global growth.
Brand integration in the game is not done conventionally like one-way advertising, rather it is integrated with the game mechanics. Each tour stop introduces a specific Hyundai vehicle model whose characteristics are tailored to the soccer strategy challenges faced by the player.
As an illustration, the advantages of fast charging on IONIQ 5 analogous to a method for maintaining players' physical fitness in the midst of a tight competition schedule. Meanwhile, The agile INSTER model is used to represent a team's reaction speed and acceleration when facing an opponent's attack in a match.
For managers who successfully complete all challenges, Hyundai has prepared various exclusive limited edition gifts. Players can get digital collections in the form of team uniforms (jersey) as well as a special Hyundai-themed emblem, which is a symbol of their achievements in this global tour.
