EA has also been known to rely on loot boxes in its FIFA series when it comes to Ultimate Team, and this has been controversially discussed in the past. A senior EA employee has commented on the matter and is likely to encounter headwinds with some statements.

Compared to English-speaking colleagues from Eurogamer Chris Bruzzo, EA’s Director of Experience, got into the loot boxes of the FIFA series and defended the use of the system in the new FIFA 22. Aside from the fact that EA makes a lot of money from loot boxes, the main argument is that the system is not a problem – loot boxes would only be used by very few players anyway!

“Let me be very, very clear on this: 9 out of 10 FUT packs in FIFA are opened with coins. The coins are earned by playing the real game. This is not real money,” Bruzzo said. A rather offensive approach on EA’s part, considering that various state authorities have even classified the Lootbox system as illegal due to the gameplay nature of it relative to real money.

Bruzzo makes another unpopular comparison, which at least fits into today’s soccer business. “Even in real football, resources can be used to build the best possible team. And in our video game you can use FUT Coins or FIFA Points. And 9 out of 10 packs are opened with FUT Coins, which players earn for doing that. Play the game, “Bruzzo continues. This adds that in the case of FIFA 21, for example, the latest title for which the data could already be sufficiently evaluated, even 78 percent of all players would not have invested a single penny of real money in FUT.

In the subsequent course of the conversation, Bruzzo points out that a large number of authorities in different countries of the world do not consider loot boxes as a game of chance and that researchers would also agree with this. The situation is only slightly different in Britain, but EA is “actively working with the government” to find a solution.

The bottom line is that the senior EA employee is frustrated and angry when the situation around FIFA is reported negatively and people are pouring too much money into the game. After all, that’s not what you would build the game for. Rather, they want players to like Playtime dashboards and encourage parental controls. Finally, it also emphasizes that children in particular should not spend money on games.

What do you think of Bruzzo’s statements? Not all players and critics are likely to be on the same page as the man at EA in this regard.