After years of complaints and even some government intervention and regulation, EA is finally making changes to how loot boxes work in FIFA Ultimate team. The changes have already been rolled out in FIFA 21, and will presumably be continued by FIFA 22, though this hasn’t been confirmed yet. Unfortunately, the changes don’t address all of the criticism lodged against the mode, but it’s a good first step.
As of today, FIFA 21 players can now see inside the Ultimate Team Packs they are buying before they buy them. In other words, before you spend your hard-earned FUT Coins and FIFA Points, you can see what you’re buying to see if it’s worth it or not.
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As reported by Eurogamer, when purchasing packs, players can now click on “Preview Pack.” From here, the pack will open as it used to after you purchased it, and show you what’s inside. At this point, you will be able to decide if you want to buy said pack or ditch it.
What’s the catch? Well, if you buy the pack after opening it, there’s none. However, if you pass on the pack you just opened, a timer will begin and until it ends, you can’t preview another pack. Meanwhile, as the timer goes, the pack you just opened will remain available in case you change your mind.
As you can see, it’s still a flawed system that encourages players to purchase packs they don’t want to avoid the timer. However, if you’re patient, you can get by without ever buying another pack you don’t want.
Obviously, EA will make less money with this change, but it’s clearly a change made due to the aforementioned pressures, particularly from governments all over the world, many of which labeled the previous system as gambling.
FIFA 21 is available via the PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch.
“On the surface level, FIFA 21 is a carbon copy of FIFA 20,” reads the opening of our review of the game. “In fact, on the surface level, it’s hard to even distinguish FIFA 19 and FIFA 18 from FIFA 21. But this is just on the surface level. If you peel back this layer, what you will find is a heap of upgrades, some critical improvements, and appreciable additions that make FIFA 21 close to one of the best FIFA games in years. EA still has work to do, but FIFA 21 is a step in the right direction ahead of the next-generation of gaming.
