Overnight, FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode was rocked by what could be its biggest scandal yet. The hashtag “#EAGATE” began trending on Twitter, with a host of big FIFA content creators sharing tweets alleging that an EA employee is selling rare FUT Icon cards to players directly, and is earning thousands of dollars in the process.
A special thanks to @RiberaRibell for the picture , he did an amazing work❤️
(continue in the comments)#fut #fifa pic.twitter.com/bJIg2rpWtI— Arcade-Fut (@FutArcade) March 10, 2021
Wait, What’s Going On?
In FUT, players traditionally have to either open packs to earn cards, the famous loot box mechanic, or you can trade your cards with other players. For this particular story, it’s worth noting that when trading cards with other players, the card will typically say who the original owner is.
The FUT Icon set of cards are said to be extremely rare, as players could spend thousands of dollars on card packs and never receive one. However, there’s an even rarer set, Prime Icon Moments, which are Icon cards that celebrate a certain moment in a player’s career, typically a championship win or something similar.
However, there have been message screenshots and tweets floating around that appear to show an EA employee selling FUT Prime Icon Moment cards to players for thousands of Euros. Worse still, the person in question seems to be able to bypass opening card packs at all, as the cards don’t register having a previous owner to begin with.
The Biggest Scandal in the History of Fifa pic.twitter.com/qXLV7g0pRN
— Kurt (@Kurt0411Fifa) March 10, 2021
So Why Is This A Scandal?
Essentially, the fact that someone is out there who can bypass the in-game systems and spawn cards, selling them for their own profit, has meant that many players who spent a lot of money and not seen a card feel cheated. It devalues the entire point of the game, and can potentially ruin the balance of the game too. Some rogue employee selling off powerful cards to rich players might make the online modes a bit more tedious.
It’s possible that this could also open EA, and more likely the employee, to a lot of legal trouble. EA’s run-ins with the courts over loot boxes has seen them argue that the card packs have no monetary value, but if someone at EA is selling individual items directly for money, they’ll find themselves in hot waters.
https://twitter.com/Nick28T/status/1369665854946697219
How Have EA Responded?
EA have issued a statement on Twitter, stating that they’re investigating these claims and will take action where necessary: “We are aware of the allegations currently circulating within our community related to FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items. A thorough investigation is underway, and if we identify improper conduct, we will take swift action. We want to be clear – this type of behaviour is unacceptable, and we in no way condone what is alleged to have happened here. We understand how this creates concern about unfair balance in the game and competition. We will update the community as we get more clarity on the situation.”
READ MORE: FIFA 21 (Xbox One) REVIEW – Just Wait Until Next-Gen
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