EA SPORTS hits back at accusations of ‘driving players’ to FIFA 21 Ultimate Team

EA SPORTS has released a statement after a ‘leaked document’ claimed to provide evidence that they “drive players” to FIFA 21 Ultimate Team, essentially to make more profit from their players.

On April 26, an alleged EA SPORTS insider sent CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) a 54-page document, claiming that it was leaked from EA themselves.

The document refers to FIFA Ultimate Team as the “cornerstone of the game,” addressing and laying out plans to “drive excitement & funnel players towards FUT from other modes.”

Of course, one of the biggest complaints about Ultimate Team has been the “gambling” aspect of it — spending real money on loot boxes in the hope of getting a top player for your team, with the devs only making changes in recent years to show what chance you have of getting a certain player. Now, EA has come out to make a statement against the accusations.

Posting barely a day after the alleged leaked documents were reported on, EA released a statement called “Comments on Recent FIFA Ultimate Team Media Reporting,” both addressing and denying the reports.

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Saying that they “firmly disagree that FIFA or any of our games involve gambling,” EA SPORTS lay out “the facts” in regards to their content and their strategy.

Here are the main points detailed in their statement:

• 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.
• 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.
• Summer is a very active time in our 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-monetized rewards. Decisions to spend are always entirely optional.
• 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.
• 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.

Finally, they noted that they “hope to see these facts more accurately represented in the future,” clearly unimpressed with the document that came out.

Of course, it’s impossible to know the actual truth of the situation, but EA are taking a step in the right direction by addressing the leak and pointing out how players can stay better protected within FIFA 21.