The hardcore football strategy sim is notorious for its addictive gameplay - and apparently not even the Holy See is immune.
Sports Interactive studio head Miles Jacobson told MCV's London Games Conference
that among the 10.1 million people who illegally downloaded the game,
at least one of the addresses was located in the Roman enclave.
Jacbonson was able to track the IP address due to a flaw in the cracked software.
Most of the downloads came from China, where 3.2 million illegal
copies were found.
Turkey was next with 1.05 million, and 547,000 in
Italy - one of whom was registered as being inside the Vatican City.
It is possible of course that the IP address may have been "spoofed"
using forwarding software - and no wrongdoing on the part of the Vatican
has been alleged.
Earlier this year it was alleged
that an IP address in the Vatican had been linked to illegal porn
downloads - though similar caveats meant it was possible no one inside
the Holy See was involved.
Jaconson said
that revenue from the game fell dramatically once the game was cracked,
but said not every pirated copy could equate to a lost sale.