There will be loot boxes - despite the bans, EA does not plan to remove packs from FIFA 23

According to Eurogamer, Electronic Arts does not intend to abandon loot boxes in FIFA 23, despite the bans from several European countries. According to the publisher, virtual items have become an integral part of the popular Ultimate Team online mode, which brings in billions of dollars to developers.

We truly believe that Ultimate Team and FUT Packs, which have been a part of the game for over 10 years, are the part of FIFA that gamers love. Fans like that the simulator reflects the real possibilities and strategy of building teams and managing them. It's fair to give players the option to spend money if they want to.

In a statement released to Eurogamer, the company echoed many of its recent comments about Ultimate Team loot boxes, which have been criticized in recent years by the public for their association with gambling, as well as by players for being over-addicted to donations.

Electronic Arts emphasized that it is not necessary to donate to the game, since packs can be obtained for free for completing tasks and participating in matches. According to the company, purchased and earned FUT packs are no different from each other. At the same time, the developers in their letter provided statistics according to which nine out of ten packs in FIFA 22 were earned, not bought.

Last month, the UK government took no action on loot boxes despite finding that players who buy player packs are "more likely to experience gambling, mental health problems, financial problems and gaming-related difficulties".

In July, political parties in the Netherlands widely supported a new attempt to block the sale of video game loot boxes. Earlier, a report commissioned by the Norwegian Consumer Council concluded that loot boxes in games are "exploitative and predatory." Consumer protection agencies in 18 European countries supported the document and called for better regulation of video games.

FIFA 23 will be released on September 30, 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Series X {{S. Earlier, Electronic Arts published new details about the game, which you can find in our previous material.