It seems that EA can't catch a break when it comes to the newest entry in its sports series, FIFA 21. EA has long seen controversy surrounding FIFA's Ultimate Team mode, and has even been sued over the practice of microtransactions in the game. Now, EA has announced it is looking into some allegations over employee behavior.
Recently, some Twitter users alleged that a FIFA 21 employee was selling FIFA Ultimate Team cards for thousands of dollars. Some of these cards are incredibly rare to obtain through random player packs, but apparently the employee could just add these cards to a player's account, for a fee of course. Some FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) cards that were being sold were Prime Icon Moments and Team of the Year cards for upwards of $2000.
The situation came to EA's attention after FIFA players got #EAGate trending on Twitter. In a statement on Twitter, EA Sports announced that it would be conducting a full investigation into the allegations. If it turns out that an employee was truly engaged in the selling of rare cards, EA Sports promises swift action against them. The company plans to update the FIFA community a ta later time, probably once the investigation is completed.
All signs point to the allegations being true, as sending certain cards to a player's account seems like something only an employee could do. This capability seems like it would be used from a customer service standpoint to address glitches and errors where a player lost a card they had obtained. However, it's also a possibility that the cards sold are obtained through hacking, and the "employee friend" is just a ruse.
In either case, EA will certainly not want any third party making money off of FUT cards. The company has made it clear it will do all it can to entice players into buying player packs. At one point some players alleged EA was purposefully nerfing FUT cards to sell more packs. The overall situation has been a soft spot for many players.
While there are plenty of gamers who enjoy FIFA 21, EA hasn't instilled the best confidence and trust with the game's player base. If the insider trading-style allegations turn out to be true, it could further foster distrust of the game's developers. EA has already been hit with fines for its loot box practices, and this controversy could open up EA and EA Sports to more legal trouble.
FIFA 21 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.