The long-standing association between Electronic Arts and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the world’s ruling body of football that lends the videogame series its name, will come to an end with FIFA 23.
However, EA has stated that randomized loot boxes will return during the game’s final moments, so it won’t be the last of FIFA loot boxes.
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The contentious FUT Packs, which can be acquired through gaming or bought with actual cash and include players and club things, appeared to be on the verge of being discontinued by EA.
In FIFA 21, EA added a modification to the formula known as Preview Packs that allowed players to view the items of packages before buying them, doing away with the element of randomness.
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Over the past several years, there’s also been an increasing backlash against loot boxes, which has resulted in the increased investigation of their more unscrupulous activities and even prohibitions in some nations.
The timing is ideal as well; EA is transitioning to a post-FIFA world, and I have to believe that doing away with loot boxes would be a smart move to increase interest in and goodwill toward EA Sports FC.
On the other hand, FUT Packs are quite profitable, and FIFA Ultimate Team is still very well-liked. In its most current quarterly update, EA didn’t provide precise numbers but did call the series “amazingly good on a worldwide scale” and note that player interaction was up over 40% over the previous year.
This expands on a CAGR of nearly 50% over the previous ten fiscal years, which drove revenues of approximately $1.5 billion in just the 2020 fiscal year.
Additionally, the UK has suggested that loot boxes not be subject to government regulation, thus paving the path for the continuing selling of FUT Packs in their current form in one of their largest countries.