You can now play again in the virtual world as Widnes Vikings following the release of the Rugby League 26 video game, eight years since the last rugby league game was released.
Released in July, the game is based on the 2025 season and Widnes are included alongside the NRL, Super League, Championship and League One clubs. With a big community in place, it is expected that there will be updates made to update the game for the 2026 season.
Despite initial criticism, it is believed that the game has sold well which hopefully points to a positive future for the series.
What are the Widnes Vikings squad player ratings?
While a lot of effort has gone in to player likeness for Super League and NRL players, the same cannot quite be said about Championship players. There has been no player modelling work done, and so there is no real likeness. Over time, the stats of the players have been tweaked to be a little more realistic.
Ben Condon, who has since left to join Catalans, is the top rated player in the Widnes squad with an Overall Rating of 70, while Adam Lawton is next with 66, followed by Jack Owens with 64. There is an anomaly in there – former Wales international Dan Fleming, who played for Bradford and Halifax, is included in the Widnes squad; and it can’t be due to confusion with Matt Fleming, as he is in there too!
There have been changes since the game was initially released, where a number of Widnes players were rated at 63 and 64.
Jake Maizen has definitely been done dirty!
70 – Ben Condon
66 – Adam Lawton
64 – Jack Owens
63 – Mike Butt, Joe Edge, Ryan Ince, Joe Lyons, Rhodri Lloyd, Matty Fozard, Liam Bent
62 – Tom Gilmore, Dan Murray, Jordan Johnstone, Gavin Bennion, Danny Langtree, Max Roberts, Morgan McWhirter
61 – Nick Gregson
60 – Dec Patton
56 – Brent Bailey, Jake Maizen, Rhys Williams
55 – Lewis Hall
Rugby league’s esports opportunity?
Who knows, maybe we’ll soon see Rugby League form part of the esports gaming scene, with the biggest events now carrying the same kind of organisation and expectancy that major traditional sports tournaments command. The scale, the structure, and the technical execution behind each event have turned esports into a tightly engineered entertainment ecosystem — one that analysts, teams, and even platforms associated with gaming culture (from streaming hubs to gaming-adjacent portals like kazino uz) follow with methodical precision. It’s not just the prize pool or ratings that define these leagues but the underlying processes: seasonal formats, meta-shifts, roster-building strategies and competitive capital architecture.
The presence of the FIFA “Ultimate Team” style “Pro Team” gives Rugby League 26 developers the chance to monetise the game further and an ongoing basis. You can purchase packs or in-game currency to get your favourite players and build a star team. Unfortunately, Championship clubs and players aren’t included, so if you want to pair Jack Owens with Nathan Cleary, you sadly cannot.
DCBL Stadium now included, but it was missed at first
On launch, the game did not include the DCBL Stadium, despite it having featured in many previous Rugby League games. Instead, Hull’s MKM Stadium was selected as Widnes’ default home stadium, while many other Championship grounds did feature.
However, an update to the game in the autumn meant that the DCBL Stadium is now on the game and selected as Widnes’ home ground.
The likeness of the stadiums is great, and it is oddly comforting seeing the familiar surroundings of some of the other Championship sides too.
You can see some evidence that shots from previous games have been used, with the Stobart logo appearing above the tunnel. No reason was given for the DCBL Stadium’s initial absence, though it could have been that it wasn’t available to be photographed appropriately when the Big Ant Studios teams toured the UK last year to do all their work on player likenesses and stadiums.
Of course, the stadium is stripped of any other sponsor marks and show as blank, though sometimes these are replaced by generic Super League branding in the game.
Where do Widnes rank in terms of teams on Rugby League 26?
Grand Finalists Toulouse and York are the highest rated Championship teams on the game, ranked at 67 overall. Bradford follow on 66 before Halifax on 65 and Oldham and Barrow on 64.
Doncaster and Featherstone are ranked higher than Widnes on 63, with the Vikings coming in very much mid-table on 62.
Get your hands on Rugby League 26
Available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S and on PC, the game has been released in the UK and Australasia featuring different cover stars; while custom covers were also created for each club for various promotions and giveaways.
50 copies of the game, including a custom Widnes cover, were given away at the Vikings’ final game of last season by main club sponsors DCBL.
Club chairman Stuart Murphy said of the giveaway: “The Rugby League 26 game giveaway was a brilliant way to round off the season, and we’re thrilled to see the Vikings and DCBL represented in the virtual world too.”
Being on the game itself gives exposure to the club’s kit sponsors too, as highlighted in previous years by previous partners Rinnai.
It is an underrated way of tapping in to the younger markets too; getting kids playing the game gets them familiar with the teams and players. Many youngsters football knowledge is born on FIFA, now EAFC.
