Electronic Arts (EA) is reversing course on the new microtransactions that were added to College Football 27’s single-player offline modes. Just days after a large group of the game’s biggest creators and players took to social media to start a campaign against their addition, EA is removing the microtransactions that were available in both Dynasty and Road to Glory.
In a statement put out on Friday evening with the announcement, stating that they “missed the mark with the introduction of paid progression options”.
“This was added independent of deeper mode progression with the aim to give players more choice, but what you’ve said is that they’re not adding the value we intended,” the studio said. “Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, we will remove all paid progression options from Road to Glory and Online Dynasty.”
A specific time wasn’t confirmed, but they did tell those who’ve already purchased College Points in the modes to use them before the update. Once it hits, they will not be able to apply the points in either mode.
A Collective Movement
When the microtransactions were discovered, along with the removal of sliders, a number of large creators in the space put out statements and videos condemning the decision. The #CFBPlayDontPay rose to as high as #9 on the United States trending charts, and EA even put out a statement announcing it was adding back the sliders for Coach XP gain into Dynasty.
Still, to see the reversal left many of the creators happy about EA’s willingness to listen to its community.
“I’m glad they backed down; I’m very proud of the community for how supportive they were,” creator Bordeaux said, who spearheaded the “#CFBPlayDontPay” movement on social media earlier this week.
Said Drew, aka Not The Expert, “[We] needed the entire community to make some noise. The different channels and modes of influence colliding together is what created the perfect storm to make this a reality.”
Microtransactions Aren’t Gone Forever
While the extra purchases are being removed for the modes in College Football 27, it doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. In the statement, EA said that its “goal for live service plans in CFB28 and beyond will be to deliver valuable features and content with greater transparency and communication.”
Additional monetization is coming back to the game. The only difference, moving forward, is that EA promises better communication about them.
When asked about the response to the decision, one source close to the game’s development said that they were told about it on Thursday. Once it was confirmed that it could be done in short order, the decision was made to announce it on Friday.
“I found out Thursday, but I’m not entirely sure when the actual decision was made,” the source clarified, adding that they were happy to see it happen. Still, they reiterated what was said earlier, that EA is looking at new ways to monetize all of their properties in the future.
What do you think of EA removing the microtransactions in College Football 27’s Dynasty and Road to Glory modes? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
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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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