Legendary publisher EA is no stranger to controversy. Whether it's ads in UFC 4 or review bombing of the latest Madden NFL game, the company is frequently the target of gamers' ire. EA's latest controversy, dubbed #EAGATE on Twitter, is wrapped up in the ongoing controversy around loot boxes, specifically in the Ultimate Team mode in FIFA 21. Ultimate Team is a mode that appears across EA's suite of licensed sports games. It mixes elements of fantasy sports-style team management with the deck-building of a collectible card game. The loot box element comes from packs that players can buy to improve their teams. Those microtransactions make Ultimate Team the most lucrative mode in EA's sports games.In many players' eyes, this makes the mode "pay-to-win." The practice has been controversial with more than just FIFA diehards. The Dutch government threatened to fine the company up to €5 Million if they don't remove Ultimate Team packs from FIFA's last three installments. #EAGATE adds another layer to the discontent with Ultimate Team. FIFA players have taken to Twitter to allege that EA employees are privately selling highly coveted Ultimate Team players for large sums of money.Related: Dragon Age: How to Romance Solas

Initially, it was easy to be skeptical about the claims, given the troubled relationship between FIFA and its fanbase. Screenshots, like those from Twitter user @Nick28T, added credibility to the claims. Nick's screenshots showed one alleged transaction, where five Prime Icon Moments players were sold for €1,700. That includes a 98 rated version of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the game.

On the one hand, it's easy to write this off for anyone without skin in the game. If someone's already spending thousands of dollars opening packs, why shouldn't they go straight to the source and get the players they want? But for the players who are active in Ultimate Team, it feels like a betrayal. As Nick put it, "So we grind/trade/open packs and can’t touch these PIM players, but EA employees sell them to people secretly for $1,700?!?!" It creates an even wider gap between the haves and have-nots in the game, without even the veneer of players earning high-rated players through skill.

EA acknowledged this in their response to the allegations. They said that accounts were being used to "inappropriately" give players access to highly rated cards they hadn't earned through gameplay, opening packs, or other authorized means (i.e., watching Twitch streams). They blamed it on either compromised accounts or EA employees going into business for themselves. EA announced an investigation into the misconduct, promising to take action against any players and employees caught taking part in the Ultimate Team black market. Though they did not specify what action would be taken against employees involved in the scandal, players will be banned indefinitely.

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The offending players won't have much of a leg to stand on when they're banned. Beyond what it does to the game's integrity, it's a violation of EA's User Agreement. The banned players will join an exclusive club that no player would want to be part of. That includes a YouTuber who was banned from all of EA's games and an Irish teenager who insulted legendary player Ian Wright with racial slurs on Instagram.

EA has also ended the practice of rewarding discretionary items indefinitely. It was a way for VIPs like pro football players, EA employees and celebrity partners to be given Ultimate Team content automatically without unlocking it. They clarify that this offer did not extend to "professional video game influencers" in an attempt to dispel the notion that EA was supplying streamers with coveted Ultimate Team players on the sly.

EA has an uphill battle ahead of them when repairing its relationship with Ultimate Team players. They've made an effort by acknowledging the controversy and being transparent about their attempt to rectify the situation. Whether they'll be able to repair their relationship with the fans who spend the most money on FIFA is another matter. It will depend on whether players trust that EA has rooted out the bad actors when bans, and likely firings, start happening. It could prove to do what anti-gambling activists haven't been able to do and do serious damage to Ultimate Team.

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