EA Sports criticized for response to FIFA 20 FUT Icons swap exploit
EA Sports have been criticized for their rapid response to a FIFA 20 Ultimate Team Icons swap exploit, with many community members suggesting they should be able to fix a number of the game’s other issues.
FIFA 20 has had a mixed reception from players. Both the casual and competitive communities have lamented the game for its bugs and some gameplay complaints, with some arguing it does little to build on the established formula of FIFA games. Of course, this is the preference for some players too.
Professional player Kurt0411 was banned for spitting on an EA logo amid his furious rant against the company. The latest FIFA title has also been slammed for its reliance on “pay-to-win” mechanics, as players who plow real money into the game stand the best chance of in-game success.
FIFA 20’s gameplay is among those aspects criticized.On January 10, it became clear that an ICON swap exploit was prominent in FIFA 20. The alleged exploit allowed players to earn tokens through ‘Friendly’ matches, essentially meaning players could guarantee themselves the untradeable ICONs far more easily than intended.
In response, EA patched the exploit rapidly, leading to many fans criticizing them for failing to fix other FIFA 20 issues quickly.
Among them was Craig ‘NepentheZ’ Douglas, a popular British FIFA YouTuber. “It’s things like this that p*ss people off,” he said. “There’s a glitch that benefits people with getting Icon Swaps tokens quicker and it’s patched in QUICK time.”
It's things like this that piss people off @EASPORTSFIFA @EAFIFADirect
There's glitch that benefits people with getting Icon Swaps tokens quicker and its patched in QUICK time.
There are 100 other "quick fixes" that you could make too, and you ignore them. smh. #FIFA20
— NepentheZ (@NepentheZ) January 10, 2020
“There are 100 other “quick fixes” that you could make too,” he continued, “and you ignore them. Shake my head.”
His opinion was echoed by a number of FIFA 20 players. “They did us dirty like that for 3 tokens,” one Twitter user said, while another echoed: “Glitch patched so fast that no one even knew there was a glitch.”
The general consensus among community members was that EA patched the update rapidly so players could not earn their ICON tokens faster than normal, but other bugs that hinder players are not addressed nearly as speedily.
The winning formula is:
If it lessens the grind, patch IMMEDIATELY
If it hinders the players, no rush take 2 days and when fixing not worry about those who got an unfair advantage and screw the rest lol(swaps patch vs. red player picks patch)
— Shade (@GamingSho) January 10, 2020
One player summarized the frustrations as: “If it lessens the grind, patch IMMEDIATELY. If it hinders the players, no rush, take 2 days and when fixing don’t worry about those who got an unfair advantage and screw the rest.”
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Others were less cynical, and praised EA for a rapid patch to an in-game exploit. However, they made clear they want to see the same attitude to all the game’s issues.