Video game giant EA steering players into loot-box option in popular soccer game, insider says
A gaming insider says an internal company document proves video game giant Electronic Arts is trying to drive players into a type of game play that encourages them to spend more money and which has come under fire for possible links to gambling.
The leaked 54-page document comes from the company's sports division in Burnaby, B.C., where a team works on EA's hugely profitable FIFA soccer games. It appears to be a presentation, featuring numerous slides with bullet points, about the release of FIFA 21 and was shared internally.
It discusses a mode of play that lets players buy "loot boxes" within the game to improve play or increase their chances of winning, such as by adding a better player to their team.
It says the mode that allows loot box purchases, called FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT), is the "cornerstone" of the game.
"We are doing everything we can to drive players there," a bullet point close to the top of the document says.
Another page of the presentation refers to "content teasers" that will "drive excitement & funnel players towards FUT from other modes" under a bullet point labelled "All roads lead to FUT."
.....