Over the last few months, FIFA’s in-game microtransactions have become a major talking point around the world, with several major lawsuits being leveled against EA due to the feature being deemed as gambling. As it stands, the company has firmly battled these claims, citing that it believes its loot boxes don’t conflict with the gambling laws it’s accused of breaking.
It seems Electronic Arts is beginning to take steps towards better monitoring how its loot boxes are sold, however, revealing that it’s currently in the process of adding a new “Playtime Tool” to FIFA 21 that monitors in-game currency expenditure and how long players are on the game. The tool hit PC today and will be joining console versions on November 17.
According to the FIFA 21 update logs, the idea of the new tool is to give players “more control and visibility over how they play.” Although the notes don’t expand much on the idea from there, Eurogamer confirmed a number of other details in its report on the Playtime Tool. Allegedly, the idea is to give parents more control over their children’s FIFA experience, monitoring how long players are on the game, how much they’re spending, and who they’re talking to. To be more precise, Eurogamer claims it will tell players “the amount of time [they’ve] spent in FIFA 21 as well as how much [they’ve] spent in terms of FIFA Points.”
By extension, the tool can also allow players or parents to set limits for how many matches they play, how many FIFA Points they buy, and how many Ultimate Team packs are opened in a set amount of time. Allegedly, the game won’t notify players if they buy FIFA Points outside of the in-game storefront, although they will still add to the total counted once they re-launch the game. As for why the Playtime Tool can’t total up real-world instead of FIFA Points, Eurogamer claims that it’s due to Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo not sharing purchase details with EA.
It seems EA is trying to make a step toward better policing its microtransaction systems, with a number of concerned parties claiming that the game is endorsing gambling to minors. The tool is apparently the first entry in a “longer-term initiative” titled “EA’s Positive Play Project.” It’s wise to assume that more ideas like the Playtime Tool could be featured in the months to come, especially as EA is currently been the target of some fierce legal battles surrounding the subject. Just recently, the Dutch Government demanded the company remove loot boxes entirely from FIFA, imposing a large fine if EA refused to do so. This could be its attempt to begin introducing measures to avoid entering more courtroom battles.
FIFA 21 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One, with the PS5, Stadia, Xbox Series X/S versions coming on December 4th.
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