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Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, has said during the publisher's recent earnings call (via IGN) that it intends to keep on trucking with loot boxes, despite the controversial feature coming under fire from regulators as being an illegal form of gambling.
Wilson used FIFA Ultimate Team as an example, stating the publishing powerhouse does not consider this or loot boxes to be gambling.
'Firstly, players always receive a specified number of items in each FUT pack, and secondly we don't provide or authorise any way to cash out or sell items or virtual currency for real money,' he said. Despite this, Wilson said that EA 'forbid the transfer of items or in-game currency outside [the games].'
However, it's clear that the company has no plans to eschew loot boxes going forward. Case and point, Wilson observed how EA is 'always thinking about' its players and 'how to deliver these types of experiences in a transparent, fun, fair, and balanced way.'
Obviously, it's hard to talk about EA and not mention the whole Star Wars Battlefront 2 fiasco, which saw gamers up in arms over the game's inclusion of various microtransactions to the point where they were temporarily removed.
They're back now, of course, albeit not quite as intrusive as they were before. EA also admitted it 'got it wrong' with the application of loot boxes in the sci-fi shooter.
Speaking of which, it was only recently that the Belgium Gaming Commission declared that the feature is a form of gambling and therefore illegal in the country, after a similar conclusion was reached by the Dutch Gaming Authority.
