EA thrives on creating games chock full of microtransactions and cosmetics. The massive game company became somewhat of an infamous poster child for in-game purchases but they've seemed to run into rough waters. You'd think EA would keep a closer eye on its in-game items economy given it's their bread and butter but you would be surprised. Recently, EA began looking into allegations of an employee supposedly sold FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items in a shady black market.
THAT'S A YELLOW CARD
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) March 10, 2021
Reports began to pop up earlier this week that an EA employee contacted FIFA players to offer them in-game items. One hot-ticket item went for over USD 1,000. The legitimate way to acquire the best FIFA 21 items includes trading between players or purchasing loot boxes. It's not an uncommon system for most competitive online games. However, the alleged antics of one EA employee put the entire FIFA 21 economy and player base in jeopardy. The high-tiered cards leaking into the black market completely negates the random chance lottery players take when purchasing microtransactions. Naturally, this creates an unfair advantage for players that choose to get their FIFA 21 cards from disreputable sources.
Players have dubbed the scandal “EA Gate” on social media. The alleged EA employee contacts players via phone text messages and offers them a wide option of game card packages. The prices vary anywhere from between USD895 to USD 1,193. EA quickly published a quick statement on Twitter addressing the ongoing issue.
The FIFA developers deemed the black market transactions “unacceptable” and promised to update the community once they made any progress on the investigation.
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