For years, EA has been faced with the question of whether the packs in FIFA Ultimate Team count as gambling . Now, for the first time, cosmetic items have been sold in the FUT store , outside of the usual packs.

Electronic Arts

 could break new groundwith the Store in FIFA Ultimate Team . After EA was again confronted with the loot box problem in FUT last week due to a leaked document , a temporary innovation in the store followed.

So far, all items could only be drawn in packs. The sticking point: The players do not know what items are in the packages.

What was available to buy in the FUT store?

At the beginning of May, many FIFA players were amazed when they discovered the new stadium tab in Ultimate Team. For three days you could buy cosmetic items there for the first time, which were otherwise only hidden in loot boxes. A selected choreo for the fans, a stadium theme, a home and away jersey: classic FIFA cosmetics. EA has already announced on its own homepage that further bundles can follow at different times.

However, the prices asked left little reason for celebration. The “Football Means Everything” bundle cost a whopping 60,000 FUT coins or 700 FIFA points . The market for it, it seemed, was already oversaturated, because some of the items contained were found significantly cheaper on the transfer market.

The introduction of the apparently not unique campaign is all the more interesting. Finally, for the first time, EA offered FUT players the ability to know in advance how they would spend their hard-earned coins or dearly paid Points. That sounds much fairer than the items that are otherwise randomly distributed.

The topic of gambling in video games has been occupying the industry for years. EA and especially FIFA are no longer only criticized for the packs in Ultimate Team. In several countries, the mode is clearly categorized as gambling and prohibited.

In Germany, too, loot boxes will be scrutinized more closely with a new youth protection law. Then games that contain such boxes or similar could receive an age rating of 18 years. Certainly not an acceptable age for EA to attract new FIFA players.

At the moment it actually seems as if EA wants to explore a way to reinvent the concept of the FUT store – or at least change it enough to avoid another loot box scandal. We are curious.

FIFA 22 – FUTs

What could be cooler than just relaxed gaming and doing some sofa sports on the side? In FIFA 22, the player is on the move fast, but without getting sore muscles. With the Ultimate Team Event cards, the collecting instinct is now also satisfied. However, the FUT Heroes keep creeping into my mind, so here are the best Ultimate Team Event cards that are definitely worth adding to your collection.

Heroes cards selected by EA for top qualities

Admittedly, the FUT heroes will cost quite a bit of coin, but it turns out that EA has once again brought some top-class players into the game when it comes to selection. As a collector and hunter, it’s an added attraction for FIFA gamers to now include their own favorite heroes in the portfolio and benefit from their individual skills. Both in the game and in team building, the FUTs will revolutionize the game once again.

EA SPORTS FC: FIFA GAME SERIES TO BE CONTINUED UNDER NEW NAME

Of course, the soccer simulation game series will not be discontinued completely. After FIFA 23, EA will relaunch the game under the name EA Sports FC and market it independently. Old FIFA hares should now become quite an ear, after all, the EA Sports Football Club used to be a part of the actual game for years. A lot of playing was rewarded, points could be collected and items, boosts or balls for the individual game modes could be unlocked.

In this context, there could also be a complete revolution of the classic game. There is a heated discussion in the FIFA community about whether the game, which is expected to be released in the fall of 2023, will be free-to-play. This option is said to be on the table for the game makers from EA, because: It seems that EA earns most of its money with the purchases of FIFA Points in the game mode Ultimate Team and not with the sale of the game itself.

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