EA exec can’t see FIFA drop loot boxes, even amid potential law changes

An EA executive has said that he cannot see FIFA’s approach to monetization change in its lucrative Ultimate Team mode, even amid changes to the laws that could cause loot boxes to be classified as gambling.

In an interview with Eurogamer, EA’s Director of Experience Chris Bruzzo was asked how the company would react if the UK, one of FIFA’s main markets, started sorting out loot boxes (and thus FIFA packs). Ultimate Team) as games of chance.

“The most important thing is that we will work with the government,” Bruzzo began. “We are ready. We are already at the table. We continue to do actions all the time. We will bring more. We are ready.” However, Bruzzo went on to say that he cannot see the monetized loot boxes change, due to their apparent importance in providing the funds to continue developing FIFA games throughout the year.

After explaining that the evolution of games now means that developers can no longer take breaks after a game is released, Bruzzo said: “So if we are providing great value, and apparently we are doing it because 100 million people are playing the game, and when you get so many people playing in all the ways that you can play it, yes, it is quite a large scale and it can generate significant income. And we need that income to keep paying our developers so we can keep generating more. value and making the game more fun over time. I don’t see that changing. I think players are clearly responding to the fun they are having with the ongoing content that is distributed in the game. I think “we’re going to keep doing that “.

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While Bruzzo cannot see the apparent need for monetization changing, a change in the law in the UK would likely force EA to change. excuse me is implemented. Gambling regulations would force EA to obtain a gaming license in the UK and, as analyst Piers Harding-Rolls pointed out to Eurogamer, potentially also force the company to add an age verification system to FIFA to avoid that minors under 18 years of age access the paid game. content.

While EA has repeatedly said that its FUT packs and loot boxes do not constitute gambling, its own financial documents (pages 17 and 18) point out that changes in the laws could affect their business model in the future. That’s no surprise, given that leaked internal documents show EA Sports wants

When Belgium banned loot boxes, EA simply stopped selling their premium FIFA Points currency in the region, meaning that FUT packs can only be earned by playing in-game. Given Bruzzo’s comments, that seems unlikely in future cases, although the executive gave no clues as to what the approach might be.

The executive made it clear that EA was thinking more about cases where players spend too much in the game and how to combat that behavior. “I think we have to talk about the extremes,” he explained. “I think we have to work on real solutions for those players who are in an extreme situation where they have lost control of their time.”

While EA itself denies that the systems used by FIFA constitute gambling, a report by the charity GambleAware found that the links between loot boxes and gambling had been “solidly verified”, and the people in risk offered “loot boxes huge profits” to developers.

The Eurogamer interview is Good worth it Read in full, with many facets of EA’s monetization strategy explored.

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s executive news editor. Follow him on Twitter. Do you have any advice for us? Do you want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to [email protected].