Despite all the scandals around loot boxes, the Ultimate Team mode in sports games like FIFA remains one of the main sources of income for Electronic Arts. The company itself noted that it makes up a “significant part” of its revenue. Over the past year alone, EA has earned over $1.5 billion on it, which is almost 30% of the publisher’s total revenue.The exact revenue of the Ultimate Team mode became known from the annual…

Electronic Arts has once again got into a scandal related to loot boxes. The network published an internal document of the company, which directly says that the developers are doing everything possible to force gamers to use the FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) mode. That’s just EA itself calls it all a “sensational story with a distortion of facts.”

The Brazilian authorities have launched an investigation, according to the results of which the country may completely ban loot boxes. Several major publishers are mentioned in the case. Companies that refuse to turn off these mechanics in the event of a ban may face daily fines of over $700 thousand.The National Association of Centers for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (ANCED) appealed to the authorities to ban loot boxes.

Last week, a scandal broke out around FIFA 21, which has already been called EAGate. Electronic Arts employees were accused of selling rare Ultimate Team player cards to individual users. The company launched an internal audit and promised to punish those responsible. However, the problem with loot boxes in FIFA is much deeper.What started EAGate?

Germany is seriously concerned about the problem of loot boxes and their impact on minors. Now the authorities are preparing a special reform that may prohibit the sale of games with similar mechanics to minors.

More than a third of teenagers and young people in the UK start buying loot boxes at the age of 13. Many of them spend their parents’ money without permission. In some cases, children’s gambling addiction drives their families into debt and forces them to mortgage property.In recent years, more and more organizations in the UK have been paying attention to the problem of loot boxes and their accessibility for children and adolescents.

Electronic Arts is once again accused of using loot boxes. This time the case is taking place in Canada, where two citizens saw a violation of the local criminal code in the actions of the company.

EA has once again faced criticism of its microtransaction policy. An advertisement for FIFA 21 loot boxes appeared in the magazine of a children’s toy store, which directly talked about the need to open packs with football players.Attention to the problem was drawn by one of the Twitter users who published a photo of a page from the magazine of the British chain of toy stores Smyths Toys.

The European government is eyeing the video game market. The other day, his Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection published the results of an investigation on the topic of loot boxes. The document suggests a different look at the control of this area. Among the key proposals: not to be limited by gambling legislation.

In the USA and Canada, a separate labeling was introduced for games with loot boxes. Prior to that, all games with IAP, including those containing loot boxes, were labeled the same: “Contains in-game purchases”.

Loot boxes remain an urgent topic for legislators. In Australia, it is proposed to prohibit the sale of all games with this mechanic to persons under 18 years of age. There are also plans to start checking the age of users online.

In the new season of Destiny 2, the sale of loot boxes will be closed. So Bungie studio will make the system of random rewards more transparent for players.

PUBG, following many popular games, will redo the system of loot boxes. Locked boxes that need a paid key to open will disappear from the game.

The British Commissioner for Children’s Rights has called for a ban on the sale of any items in games, with the exception of cosmetics. And also recognize loot boxes as a form of gambling and regulate them accordingly.

It became known which monetization will replace the loot boxes in Rocket League. It is called Blueprints and is associated with crafting items for a new currency.

In the French version of CS:Now there is an “X-ray for loot boxes”, and now users see their contents. You might think that Valve has made a concession to French players, but not everything is so simple.

And a little more about the loot boxes. China is gradually introducing a daily limit on their purchase.

It seems that the loot boxes have seriously damaged the reputation of Apex Legends and Respawn personally. The studio was criticized for the fact that cosmetics in the new event fell out only from boxes with loot.

Epic Games, following several publishers, confirmed its desire to make loot boxes transparent mechanics. In all new games of the company, the percentage of randomness in loot boxes will be indicated.