EA Sports Hit With FIFA 21 Lawsuit Over 'Dictating Outcomes' Through Alleged Scripting

FIFA 21 publisher EA Sports has been hit with a new lawsuit over claims that the alleged 'scripting' mechanic is deliberately used to sell more Ultimate Team packs.

Electronic Arts has already faced backlash over the use of loot boxes in the popular FIFA Ultimate Team mode.

And one lawsuit launched in France has even called for Ultimate Team to be classified as gambling.

Now, EA Sports faces another legal challenge in the US after a lawsuit was brought to a Californian court.

The Zajonc v Electronic Arts lawsuit was brought forward by a FIFA trio -- Jason Zajnoc, Danyael Williams and Pranko Lozano -- and alleged that the publisher had used "deceptive practices" and "false advertising" to drive sales for Ultimate Team.

The lawsuit claims that EA "unlawfully" tricked players into buying packs from Ultimate Team by "utilizing artificial intelligence technologies that adjust game difficulty dynamically."

EA Sports has strongly denied that so-called scripting exists in the FIFA series, despite fans claiming that it is present in this year's FIFA 21.

However, the plaintiffs have built their case around scripting and EA's alleged failure to confirm to customers that it does impact matches.

The lawsuit reads: "Unbeknownst to most... EA utilizes technologies like 'Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment' and 'Adaptive Difficulty.'

"These technologies use heuristic prediction and intervention to dictate or even influence outcomes, thereby keeping gamers more engaged."

Zajnoc, Williams and Lozano also argued that EA Sports had violated Californian consumer protection laws by doing false advertising and unjust enrichment through their practices.

According to reports, the case hasn't been certified as a class-action lawsuit.

But the lawsuit also points to EA Sports franchises like Madden and NHL, both of which incorporate an Ultimate Team mode similar to that of FUT.

PC Gamer reports that EA has released a statement and denied the accusations in the lawsuit.

An EA representative said: "We believe the claims are baseless and misrepresent our games."

Featured Image Credit: EA Sports/YouTube

Topics: gaming news, GAMING, Electronic Arts, EA Sports, FIFA 21

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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