EA looks like it’ll be aiming to extract extra cash from consumers, as not only will the company be offering $70 standard and $100 “Ultimate” editions of its soccer game EA Sports FC 27, it’ll also be selling a $150 “Ultimate Plus” version.
To put this into perspective, EA already sells an MVP bundle of its football games for the same price, but you’re getting both Madden NFL, College Football, and deluxe edition perks in that package. In comparison, the Ultimate Plus edition of EA Sports FC 27 is a single game that includes a sizable amount of DLC, such as four premium season passes, 10,000 FC Points–the game’s premium currency–spread across several months, player boosts, a Hall of FUT Player Pick, and more.
The other big draw is that this version of the game allows you to start playing seven days early, a perk that we’re seeing pop up more often in video games lately. Halo: Campaign Evolved players who purchased the $70 Premium edition currently have early access to the game ahead of its official release on July 28, but a launch issue prevented them from hopping in ahead of schedule.
It’s also worth noting that the EA Sports FC games have drawn heavy criticism over the years for how progression has been hidden behind paywalls, while other parts of the game have also been called out for overt pay-to-win gameplay mechanics. These ideas made their way into EA Sports College Football, resulting in everyone being pissed off. EA eventually removed the controversial microtransaction system, but there are still plenty of microtransactions for the popular Ultimate Team mode.
There are also fears that these gameplay systems could become more prevalent if the sale of EA goes through. The company is aiming to sell itself to a group of investors led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the $55 billion deal will see the company burdened with billions in debt–debt that could require it to make some massive cuts to its portfolio of game studios.