Mass account suspension

Electronic Arts (EA) has temporarily suspended the online FIFA 22 accounts of over 30,000 players for exploiting a no-loss game forfeit glitch in its FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) championship games.

The California-based soccer video game franchise took to Twitter on October 20 with the news of its mass player suspension:

The glitch enabled gamers playing FUT championship matches to quit games without earning a loss and ultimately receive better rewards. EA said it had identified in excess of 30,000 active accounts exploiting the no-loss glitch and “suspended them from FIFA 22 online for 7 days.”

This means EA has locked out the offending thousands from participating in this week’s FUT Champions Finals. The suspension is, however, temporary and the gamers will get to keep their rewards for future use.

Savvy gamer goes viral

Trying to beat the system by finding a no-loss glitch in the FUT championships is a yearly pastime for many FIFA 22 players.

OMG I FOUND A NO LOST GLITCH IN FIFA 22 OH NOOOO.”

This year, however, it took under two weeks for savvy gamers to cotton onto the glitch, thanks to a viral TikTok video from skillzapex entitled “OMG I FOUND A NO LOST GLITCH IN FIFA 22 OH NOOOO”:

skillzapex described how he pressed the home button on the FIFA 22 game and sat on it until the game kicked him out, automatically forfeiting the match. On returning to the FUT menu, the gamer still had the three matches remaining that he had prior to exploiting the glitch.

A couple of days after the TikTok video went viral, EA’s FIFA Direct Communication channel took to Twitter to say it had fixed the glitch:

The official October 16 communication also added that it was identifying the culprits who exploited and glitch and would be “following up with them directly.”

From pitch lines to fines

Also this month, FUT players reported another issue in the game that was causing an accessibility problem. FIFA 22 allows players to change the color of pitch markings, including a green option that is almost indistinguishable from the color of the virtual grass. Unlike FIFA 21, away players don’t see default white pitch markings and, as such, can struggle to adapt.

Additionally, it’s nearly one year since EA reportedly appealed a Netherlands District Court decision that could earn it a potential maximum fine of up to €10m ($11.6m) for selling FIFA video game loot boxes in the Netherlands. 

An update on the case by international legal analysts Lexology on May 31, 2021 stated that EA “requested relief from the Council of State, which was recently granted.”