EA is rewarding loyalty with $20 fees in FC 24

As the EA FC rebrand came into play, Ultimate Team players were hit hard at the start of the year, as years of loyalty to the FIFA series were tossed out of the window.

FC 24 broke the trend of "loyalty packs", which came into play at the start of every FIFA year to reward those players who bought the annual release year after year, choosing not to deploy them for the first time in over a decade and instead opting for new and disappointing Founders bonuses.

Now EA is really testing players' patience, as it is rubbing the loyalty tag in our faces by releasing "Supporter Packs" designed to be a reward for playing FC 24.

And they're $20...

EA FC 24 to roll out 'Loyalty' packs with an absurd catch

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As of February 12, EA has added a string of rewards to players' "packs for you" tab in the Store.

The tab has up to four new packs to buy, with the return of the favourite Energiser rewards for the measly amount of 10 and 30 coins. 

However, two more rewards will be available if you've played enough Ultimate Team this year.

The Welcome to the Team Pack will appear to those who have entered Ultimate Team on their consoles/PC for at least three days. The Ultimate Supported Pack will also be available for those who have played for 30 days. 

But both packs cost a freakish amount of coins, priced at 50,000 (500 FIFA Points) and 250,000 (2,000 FP), the latter of which equates to the real-life value of $20.

FC 24 players react to 'shameless' loyalty packs

After years of free loyalty rewards, which do come at the cost of buying a new game year after year rather than buying into a live-service model title, these new packs have come as quite the kick in the teeth for most players.

"Loyalty packs should be free. Come on EA," said one aggrieved fan on Twitter.

"How shameless can we get here?" a second fan added as EA's announcement was hit with a community note (the third time in a week).

A third fan half-heartedly joked, "Next year in EAFC: 'Congratulations you’re 2-0 up in the first half!! For only 2000 FP we’ll let you play the 2nd half too'!"

It's not been a year to remember for EA already in 2024, and fans are skating on thin ice with a few new titles circling in the wings.