Code in FIFA indicates regional shutdown of Ultimate Team due to legislation – Gaming – News

EA may block FIFA Ultimate Team game mode for players in countries, including the Netherlands, to comply with legislation. In-game code refers to a popup indicating that FUT is blocked. Such a block is not yet active.

The popup contains the text: “FIFA Ultimate Team is currently not accessible due to a request from the authorities in your region”. Such a popup has not yet been shown in the game, however FUT Watch found out its presence in FIFA Ultimate Team code. FUT Watch more often releases new information about FIFA’s game mode that has been found in code.

The end of October a Dutch court ruled that Packs can be seen in FIFA as a separate game of chance and that is in violation of gambling legislation. The Gaming Authority has imposed an order subject to a penalty of up to 10 million euros on EA. EA has appealed and it is now awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court. It is not yet known when that ruling will take place.

If EA loses the case, the publisher must adjust the game. For example, the Gaming Authority wants the football players that can be obtained from the Packs not to be traded. Then the content of the packages no longer represents economic value and it no longer falls under gambling legislation. Another option would be that EA lets players buy footballers directly, without any element of chance involved. It would also suffice if EA removed the Packs entirely from the game for Dutch users.

In the lawsuit, EA said that it is technically difficult to make such adjustments in the short term if they only apply to one country. Disabling FUT entirely in a region could be a solution to be able to respond quickly to an adverse ruling. EA could then come up with a different solution in the longer term to comply with local legislation.

Whether EA is actually considering disabling FUT in the Netherlands is not known. If this happens, it will affect buyers of FIFA games. Part of the game will no longer work and players will therefore not get what they paid for. Presumably EA will then have to return money to players who wish to cancel their purchase. Tweakers has asked EA for a response, but the publisher does not want to give a substantive response.

In Belgium, FIFA has been under fire from the Gaming Commission for some time. In 2019 EA stopped in Belgium with the sale of FIFA Points, with which the Packs can be purchased. FIFA Ultimate Team is a game mode in which players put together their own football team. The players required for this are in so-called Packs, in fact lootboxes. They can be bought with money or with points earned in the game.