Game developers in recent months have been under increasing pressure to revisit their policies on in-game transactions.
EA Sports in particular has faced criticism, leading to a lawsuit being filed in relation to scripting in FIFA 21.
The class action lawsuit has been filed against the publisher in the US District Court of Northern California, and alleges that EA has utilised Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in an effort to encourage players to spend money on ‘loot boxes’.
“This is a self-perpetuating cycle that benefits EA to the detriment of EA Sports gamers, since Difficulty Adjusting Mechanisms make gamers believe their teams are less skilled than they actually are, leading them to purchase additional Player Packs in hopes of receiving better players and being more competitive,” the lawsuit reads (via PCGamer).
However a spokesperson for EA has responded to the suit, labelling the claims baseless.
“We believe the claims are baseless and misrepresent our games, and we will defend.”
These kind of in-game transactions have been labeled a form of gambling, potentially becoming addictive to gamers. EA was actually fined by a Dutch court after FUT cards were found to be in contravention of Dutch law.
The fine was brought about after a ruling was made that packs were indeed a form of gambling, therefore in violation of the country’s gambling laws.
Featured image credit: EA