FIFA 21’s controversial Ultimate Team mode is already in hot water with various governments around the world, but now its most dedicated community is up in arms as a scandal has erupted on social media today. EA Sports has already issued a strong statement in an attempt to calm tensions, after it was alleged that an employee sold some of the game’s most coveted cards for €1,000s.
The story started to circulate earlier today, when a Twitter account posted unverified WhatsApp messages, which purport to show an employee flogging Icon cards in packages ranging from €750 to €1,000. A further smartphone screenshot shows a conversation involving three Prime Icon Moments cards being sold for €1,700.
It’s important to note that these are among the rarest cards in the game, and are highly sought after by the FIFA community. Not only are they some of the best performing players with the highest stats, but their rarity means that they can fetch upwards of 10 million coins via the in-game Transfer Market.
As such, it’s not uncommon for fans of the game to spend significant sums of money on card packs in the hopes of pulling one of these ultra-rare players. Within the FIFA community, there is a black market which allows players to purchase in-game coins with real money, but these accusations of an EA Sports employee effectively selling cards from the inside are unprecedented.
They’re also hugely damaging, and could have massive legal ramifications on the publisher – especially with it already under intense scrutiny by governments around the globe. It’s no surprise, then, with #EAGate trending on social media, that it’s been forced to release a statement. In its message, it says that a “thorough investigation is underway”.
It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out. Not only is the publisher going to have to deal with the ramifications of an increasingly incensed fanbase, but it’s frequently argued that Ultimate Team is not a form of gambling as its content has no monetary value. Regulators may argue otherwise if it turns out rogue employees really have been flogging uber-rare cards behind-the-scenes.
[source twitter.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 57
I am glad I don't buy any of these garbage sports games.
CEOs make 10s of millions - OK, consumer choice
Employee makes a few thousand - RAISE the ALARM
This is interesting. Part of me is surprised something like this hasn't happened sooner (assuming someone managed to do it secretly before).
Will be very interesting to see where this leads.
Oh wow this isn’t good. This undermines the entire FUT ecosystem to be honest.
"Ultimate Team is not a form of gambling as its content has no monetary value."
Yes, at least they openly say that people give them money for nothing. ☺️ I'll never understand how can someone waste money on microtransactions, especially loot boxes...
Sorry if this is a stupid question but what exactly do you do with these cards after you get them? I usually don't click on sports games articles but this one peaked my curiosity.
So after you maybe spend hundreds looking for certain cards do these cards also get moved to next year's game or you have to do it all over again? So once you get all the top players what comes next?
EA in hot water with their scummy business practices again? No way!
People get angry with EA, forget in a few weeks, situation blows over.
Process repeats every 3-4 months.
Also EAgate sounds like a movement an angry teen came up with, very edgy!
@Juanalf The cards don’t transfer so you start over in the next game. You can use the cards you get in your team and compete with them; a better squad will arguably be more competitive online.
The cards being discussed in the article are so rare that 99.999% of the game’s players will never have access to them.
It is unofficially (soon to be officially) OVER for EA and their loot box/micro practices. This will cause major action by multiple government bodies and will induce a ripple effect to include 2K, Activision, etc. What a fantastic day!
@doctommaso - Hopefully so, this whole thing completely undermines EA's claims of no monetary value. Things like this and Germany pushing the Youth Protection Act to remove MTX from Fifa or age gate it are really going to have some serious repercussions on EA's scummy business practices.
Lootbox should be regulated as gambling.
which in twelve months time will have zero value 😂 everyone's an idiot in this fiasco
I can't really fault the man for trying to make some easy money off of dumb sports gamers. EA themselves do it all the time.
A real missed opportunity for EA. Clearly they should've just been selling these cards directly for €1000+. There's whales willing to pay it.
I bought fifa 20 in a sale for £7 because its a good game to have a few rounds on when your mates are actually allowed by boris and his minions to visit your homes again..many a mcfc vs spurs have taken place over the years on various incarnations of fifa..the loot boxes are a blight and really are a form of gambling that has no place in games at all..ever..even though micro transactions are a touchy subject and i admit i am divided by them they actually make you aware of what you are purchasing..the loot boxes are just russian roulette with your bank account and it needs to stop..
I remember the days where all the extra content was already in the game and you unlocked it all by playing on harder difficulties.
Some people almost get a gambling addiction with these random micro transactions which is totally random what you get for your money.
I believe people have a choice to spend extra money on their game but it needs some sort of regulation board.
I thought mobile phone games were bad enough getting money out of people but console games are catching up fast!
Fifa has become a pay to win scripted game..if you are that kind of person that feels the need to pay money to win get medical help.
@Total_Weirdo I remember the days when video games cost the same as they do now (without inflation even taken into account) with a fraction of the content they have now and could be beat it a matter of 2-3 hours. There were no save files and were too difficult to make the player feel like they lasted longer.
If only we could go back to those days.
I just play career mode and don’t worry about the card stuff.
People must be mad to spend that much on a player for a game that lasts a year despite how much money they may have.
EA is a cancer on the gaming community. This only happens because of their loot box system that leads to gambling addiction.
Everybody here would do the same if somebody was willing to pay a grand for one of their FUT cards.
@naruball I remember when games cost a tenner, you got loads of free games with magazines and there was about 15 footy games released every year. We can all use examples to support dodgy business tactics but I prefer to condone a multi billion dollar company for gambling in games who's stock holders are rich beyond our imagination.
Now this is Surprise Mechanics!
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi everyone except EA who take these items away and the same mugs chase after what they already had all over again. It is literally a mugs game and I love football and play FIFA - would never touch FUT. it’s a mode that is designed to be addictive and people defending it don’t realise they have been suckered in.
I was addicted to FUT (not Fifa point thankfully!). I'm all for anything that helps destroy this monster.. such an uneven playing field, all these people with high disposable income don't think twice about spending thousands on packs, which encourages other to waste money that they shouldn't.. maybe better to sell cards directly like this!
@naruball 100% - games like sensible world of soccer, Goldeneye, Golden Axe, Turtles in time, original wipeout, Buffy on the OG Xbox, ncaa 14, gran turismo 2, knights of the old republic, Mario kart, the Zeldas.... these really short games...
That I still play 15 years plus later in many of the cases...
Those short “old” games!! Grrrrr.. glad for these new games like fifa that are made to be disposable after a year yeah.
This is nuts, why would you buy a player for one year for a grand, ppl need to get a grip. Next year EA will be adding another version of the game for release sale for 1k with one icon player lol. I think Fut wouldn't be so bad if you could actually carry over your progress but every year you just start over. I'm not going to buy FIFA for a good few years now 21 was awful defending and keepers were awful, played it for a few weeks and haven't been back since ps5 released.
Youtubers and influencers have been doing this for years though right?
Nothing new here, just now they’ve been caught 😂😂
Wow, the bosses will be angry now.
Someone's been skimming the skim.
Try telling a guy who's job it is to steal, that he can't steal...
FUT really is a microcosm of our capitalist society.
Those with power create scarcity, so they can profit the most. In the process they create a system that is so unfair, that criminal behavior starts to seem fair in comparison.
@Jacko11 ironically that is worse as thats youtubers and influencers given access to content free to attract others in. EA know they give these people expensive items or fake packs to have amazing “discoveries” to make people believe you can obtain this stuff freely
No one wants to write about that horrible culture that exists though. They’ll turn a blind eye to all that. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Where are you? Where are the apologists and the naysayers who try to tell us that UT isn't gambling, there's nothing wrong with it, its not different to a Kinder Egg? Where are the idiots who don't understand that UT is a disgusting vehicle for creating addictive behaviour patterns in the vulnerable? How can anyone rationalise that this kind of casino-style mechanics has a place in our games just because they themselves don't play it? You're all enablers, you're the reason its allowed to exist. You buy the game, put on your blinkers, defend your choice and deny there's a sickness in the industry, and that sickness is at the heart of why FIFA exists. You think its normal to spend thousands of pounds ON VIDEO GAME content that already has no intrinsic value, and worse after less that 1 year its completely redundant so you've got to do it all over again?
@TeapotBuddha its disgraceful. PS even publish articles essentially giving free advertising for UT packs.
I thought this site had some integrity and cared for their community. Its clear now they don't. They just chase clicks.
@Stocksy by all means. Keep playing those. No need for new hardware or anything.
@themcnoisy R.I.P., reading comprehension.
Oh wow this is good. This undermines the entire FUT ecosystem to be honest.
@Kidfried This is possibly the best way I have seen the truth laid out about this whole thing. It's what I see every day and feel so down that more don't see it.
I try not to comment on too many incendiary topics but I feel passionately about this. If people are able to profit by black marketing (either by being an insider or just trading in general outside of the game), this completely closes down the argument that FUT is not a form of gambling and a blight on the landscape of gaming.
@Rudy_Manchego while I don’t necessarily disagree that it’s gambling to play devils advocate I don’t think this proves it. All this shows is it is a scarce commodity that some rich people are willing to spend a lot of money on.
I think it’s pretty sick though that it must be so scarce in game that spending a grand wouldn’t guarantee you getting one of these cards the traditional way.
As someone who works on sports sites and thus has a working relationship with gambling companies, this is and always has been pure gambling as the risk, reward is clear to see.
To sell products as this guy has done from within the industry, both he and the company would have had the book thrown at them if a gambling firm, with huge fines for various reasons, let alone transparency, fairness and other avenues that could be persued.
In fact, for things like betting on football, we cannot use an image of a player that may look under the age of 25, as it may encourage younger people to gamble, yet here we have EA with their "surprise mechanic" using Haaland and Mbappe. Its ludicrous.
I enjoy playing FIFA, mainly pro clubs with my friends / family, but how Ultimate Team has gotten away with this for so long, is beyond me, especially with the aim of attracting kids to buy more packs etc.
@DrJames I'm pretty sure it's about breaking the rules and screwing directly with customers.
I've seen this in the past in an MMORPG with a GM trying to restore balance between factions by giving/selling overpowered items to the weakest one (not sure if there was money involved). The end result was extremely messy, with items almost impossible to optain and near unkillable characters that would wreak havoc on the battlefield, random people being banned or stripped naked for duplicated and GM created items etc.
@Robinsad the argument that its not gambling is that there is no way to cash out. This disproves that.
@Rhaoulos you are 100% correct - my point was that there are two sets of rules now - the rich can break the laws , cheat and lie and its becoming acceptable - as soon as a peasant steps out of line they throw the hammer at them. The examples are everywhere - twitch streamers, reddit stock investors, small business owners trying to open, etc etc
@naruball haha I wore that quickly before. Sorry Naru it wasn't a particularly engrossing reply. Will do much betterer next time.
@ApostateMage There isn’t a truer comment here.
Dump that crap, create the games with accurate teams and gameplay, release said game. That is what should be done.
@deathaxe agreed. And what a spectacular example of bad parenting.
@Robinsad I guess but to me (and I'll admit I'm not an expert), that your point of spending a whole grand is no guarantee of ever getting one of these is the key bit. I could spend a grand on lottery tickets and not win a jackpot.The artificial scarcity is to get people to spend more to try and win it.
tbh the craziest thing about this to me is the fact that people are willing to pay that kind of money for some in-game perks
@DrJames It gets even worse when a small fry takes the fall because of an executives mistake. It is all a matter of brand protection. An employee gets sacked because of something unacceptable, people think they are proactive and that it makes a it good company (sometimes it does). Same thing with a CEO would be devastating for a company.
If you pay more then a $1000 too get a card that is useless next year then you deserve too be scammed im sorry but what a losers.
@Rudy_Manchego its probably more profit then the EA cards.
@Flaming_Kaiser Ha ha - very true! Plus has real world value if you DO win.
@Nepp67 The likes of Pro Evolution Soccer or F1 isn't garbage, maybe give it a go instead of flaming the entire sports genre over a dumb franchise thats obscenly popular with the non-gaming crowd.
@Prinnyonfire Nah I'll try better games over sport games.
People love to pile on EA but I totally agree with them it’s not gambling and they have no monetary value. This is rogue customer support staff adding cards to accounts. People who buy the cards can’t sell them on, so they are worthless despite people paying thousands for them.
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