EA Sports Confirms FIFA 23 Football Games Series Finale

FIFA 23 will be the final part in Electronic Arts' long-running partnership with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the global sports governing body that gives the videogame series its name. Although, it will not be the end of FIFA loot boxes, as EA has announced that randomly selected loot boxes will return for the game's final installment. It appeared that EA would finally renounce the contentious FUT Packs, which can be obtained through gameplay or bought with real money and comprise content such as players and club items. In FIFA 21, EA introduced Preview Packs, which allowed players to view the contents of packs before buying them, expelling the element of randomization. There has also been a growing outcry against loot boxes in recent years, resulting in increased criticism of their more unfair practices and even outright bans in some countries. The timing is also ideal: EA is starting to shift into a post-FIFA world, and ditching loot boxes would be a good way to boost interest and goodwill in EA Sports FC. https://twitter.com/FUT23News/status/1557749784345288704?s=20&t=YiAXvRcAv30OkZP4H1HFKw FIFA Ultimate Team, on the other hand, is still extremely popular, and FUT Packs are massively lucrative. In its most recent quarterly report, EA didn't provide any specific figures, but it clearly sees the series as "exceptionally strong on a global basis," and said that player interaction was up at least 40% year over year. This builds on an annual compound growth rate of nearly 50% over the past 10 fiscal years, which produced nearly $1.5 billion in sales in 2020 alone. The UK government recently suggested that loot boxes not be regulated, effectively paving the way for FUT Pack sales to proceed as-is in one of the largest markets for them. The FIFA 23 website makes a reference to loot boxes in the new FIFA Ultimate Team, saying players can receive a new currency called Stars "for players, packs, and more." In a statement being sent to Eurogamer, EA stated that the packs will return, and upheld its FIFA loot box practices overall. "We wholeheartedly believe that Ultimate Team and FUT Packs, which have been part of the game for more than a decade, are a part of FIFA that players love—fans love that the game reflects the real-world excitement and strategy of building and managing a squad. Giving players the choice to spend if they want to is fair." https://twitter.com/FUT23News/status/1557754044751429635?s=20&t=YiAXvRcAv30OkZP4H1HFKw "It's worth saying that spending is entirely optional in our game, and we do not encourage spending over earning rewards through game play. FUT Packs work in just the same way whether they are paid for or earned, and most players don't spend in game at all. For example, nine out of 10 FUT Packs opened in FIFA 22 were earned." The videogame industry puts so much hard work into avoiding loot boxes from being defined as form of gambling, a campaign that's been highly effective so far. It's regulated fairly stringently in most jurisdictions. In March, for example, a Dutch appeals court quashed a $11 million fine imposed against EA, stating that FUT Packs "are not games of chance"—that is, they are not gambling.