EA is addressing some of the concerns regarding progression in the single-player modes within College Football 27. After the game was released to those who spent $150 on July 2, it was quickly discovered that the studio had removed various progression options for players in both Dynasty and Road to Glory. What’s more, microtransactions allowing you to pay to upgrade your coach or player in the modes were also added.
It drew harsh criticism from general players and large creators, who feel EA tried to hide the changes from the community. It led to a hashtag “#CFBPlayDontPay” to start trending on Twitter, with some going as far as to refund their preorder for the late edition of the game that released today, July 9.
A day after the concerns reached a fever pitch, EA has released an update speaking on the progression changes and what’s being done.
Progression Updates Are Coming
In a post on the EA Forums, the studio says it’s “seen a lot of conversations and feedback around our coach progression.” They say that coach progression in College Football 27’s Dynasty Mode was built as a “long-term career arc”, with requirements remaining the same as last year’s game.
That said, they are making changes to the pace of progression in Dynasty in an upcoming title update. With the update, there will be three new Coach XP settings for players: Casual, a 1.5x XP gain; Simulation, 1.25x XP gain; and Career, the 1.0x XP gain.
Moving to Road to Glory, EA says that progression in the mode was “redesigned around earning weekly XP through gameplay and upgrading individual ratings and abilities throughout your career.”
“As part of this redesign with progression being tied to gameplay performance, players are rewarded more XP by playing on higher difficulty settings,” they said. “Depending on your starting recruit level and performance on the field, you can generally expect to reach the mid-to-high 90s by your junior year. You can still reach 99 OVR through gameplay alone. Your chosen recruit path affects how quickly you get there, a 5-star Elite recruit will progress faster than a 2-star Underdog, but your performance on the field is ultimately the biggest factor in your overall progression.”
As far as the removed sliders, there was no mention of adding them back. It was also confirmed that disabling the Wear & Tear feature will lower your rewarded XP to “offset the gameplay advantage of no longer needing to manage your player’s health.”
No Mention Of Microtransactions
While things like progression, recruiting, and position battles were mentioned in the post, microtransactions were not directly talked about. There was nothing on the decision to add them to the modes, such as why they removed sliders while adding them or why it wasn’t mentioned when previewing the game earlier this summer. The only mention was of “Coach XP Accelerators” in Dynasty, which are, in fact, the microtransactions.
As Insider Gaming reported on Wednesday, sources have told me that EA has been, and will continue, to look at more ways to monetize their games.
What do you make of EA’s response to what’s being said? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
In other news, read about Sony’s CEO selling over half of his stock in the company after the PlayStation disc announcement. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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