EA has denied it’s “pushing” FIFA players to spend money on loot boxes after a “gaming insider” leaked marketing documents to a mainstream publication.
CBC’s Go Public published two pages from an internal FIFA 21 document that discusses the company’s approach to Ultimate Team, the controversial mode whose loot boxes have been labelled gambling.
“FUT is the cornerstone and we are doing everything we can to drive players there,” a bullet point close to the top of the document says.
Another leaked page from the document contains the line “all roads lead to FUT”, and reveals EA’s plan to “funnel” players towards FUT from other modes.
Go Public reports that the insider leaked the document because “he and others he knows who work on video games don’t feel good about projects that include loot boxes”.
“We can’t really do anything about it because at the end of the day, [the] company is trying to make money and satisfy investors,” the insider is quoted as saying.
Another internal EA document allegedly refers to FUT Coins, the in-game currency you earn through playing, as “grind currency”.
The insider takes issue with FIFA 21 steering customers towards FUT when they’ve already forked out full-price for the game and may be happily enjoying non-FUT modes.
“For years… they’ve been able to act with a layer of plausible deniability,” the insider is quoted as saying.
“Yet in their internal documents, they’re saying, ‘This is our goal. We want people driven to the card pack mode.’ “
EA has hit out at Go Public, accusing its report of being a “sensationalised story with a misrepresentation of the facts”.
In a lengthy statement issued to Eurogamer, EA said: “We always look for opportunities to introduce more players to modes in our games. Our FIFA players are expecting fresh content that makes the service exciting, so that’s a constant focus for us.”
EA insisted “we do not ‘push’ people to spend in our games”.
“Where we provide that choice, we are very careful not to promote spending over earning in the game, and the majority of FIFA players never spend money on in-game items.”
One line in the internal document says “players will be actively messaged and incentivised to convert throughout the summer”.
EA defended this language, saying the summer is a very active time within the FUT community, “and we ensure more of our new content and community events in the game are centered there.”
“The new content that we introduce throughout the year includes extensive non-monetised rewards,” EA continued. “Decisions to spend are always entirely optional.”
Then: “Nothing in the leaked document contradicts this in any way – it shows how we are supporting engagement in our game during the summer period, not spending.”
EA goes on to stress its position:
“We take very seriously our responsibility to provide players a safe and fun experience.
“We don’t encourage young players to spend in our games, and we strongly recommend use of family controls to manage the content that children are allowed to access, their ability to spend in games, and how much time they can play. Our EA platform for PC games also includes dedicated Child and Teen accounts, so that all of our players and their parents can make informed choices about how they play. And tools like FIFA Playtime help players take control of how they play, including the ability to set limits to manage their engagement and purchasing.”
Then, onto the claim that FIFA’s loot boxes are gambling, which EA once again denied. “We also firmly disagree that FIFA or any of our games involve gambling,” EA said.
“Regulators in multiple countries around the world have stated publicly that where there is no cashout method, loot boxes do not constitute gambling.
“We take great care to ensure that our games are played as designed, including by taking action against those who violate our rules against trading outside the game. We do not believe there is merit in any of the recent litigation filed in the US or Canada and are confident the courts will agree.