After the developers have already faced harsh criticism several times due to overpriced shop packs in FC 24 they have now taken it a step further by monetizing a popular feature in Ultimate Team – much to the dismay of the community.
This is the situation:
- EA Sports has occasionally distributed reward packs to loyal players in the past to appreciate regular logins in Ultimate Team mode.
- The type of reward was always based on the frequency of play over a certain period: The more often a player had logged in since the launch of the virtual trading card game in that particular version, the more valuable the reward pack became.
- However, now the development studio has chosen a different path and attracted the annoyance of the community. Instead of the free packs, EA has added a new tab in the shop called ‘Packs for You’, through which players can now only receive these loyalty packs in exchange for coins or FC points.
Fans were not very pleased with this change and already expressed their anger under the official announcement post that the company published on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter).
Loyalty packs now only available in the shop – fans outraged by EA Sports’ decision
Here’s how the community reacted: It didn’t take long for a clear opinion to crystallize in the comments under the post: EA has apparently reached a new level of shamelessness.
Symbolic of the sentiment of the fans and major influencers – both nationally and internationally – is the comment from the German YouTuber and streamer Smexy, who expresses clear words: “You should just be ashamed!” The community notes under the post resonate with the same sentiment.
The new system now requires payment for packs, unlike the old one, making them no longer considered rewards. Additionally, the individuality of the packs, which are supposed to be specifically tailored to each individual Ultimate Team journey, can be questioned since they are the same for everyone who meets the milestones (number of log-ins, etc.).
Here we have gathered more comments from the post on X regarding the topic:
- Daredevil: “In my imagination, such ‘packs for you’ would have been free. At EA, they even charge for that.”
- Zade: “Next time I buy someone a gift, I’ll tell them they actually have to pay me to get it.”
- CJM: “To say that they are shameless is now an understatement.”
That EA Sports can afford such actions may also be due to a lack of competition. However, the monopoly position in football simulations could crumble in the future.
Rumors suggest that FIFA has indeed found a partner for the development of a new game.
