EA Disables UFC 4's In-Game Ads Following Player Outrage

Authored by pushsquare.com and submitted by HelghastFromHelghan

Update: After backlash from fans, Electronic Arts has disabled the in-game ads that play in-between rounds in UFC 4. In a statement handed to Eurogamer and posted on Reddit, the publisher said: "Earlier this week, the team turned on ad placements in EA SPORTS UFC 4 that appeared during the “Replay” moments in gameplay. This type of advertising inventory is not new to the UFC franchise, though we have typically reserved displaying ads to specific main menu tiles or Octagon logo placement.

"It is abundantly clear from your feedback that integrating ads into the Replay and overlay experience is not welcome. The advertisements have been disabled by the team and we apologize for any disruption to gameplay that players may have experienced."

The statement continues: "We realize that this should have been communicated with players ahead of time and that's on us. We want to make sure our players have the best possible experience playing EA SPORTS UFC 4, so ad integration in the Replay and overlay experience will not be reappearing in the future. Thank you for your continued feedback on EA SPORTS UFC 4."

Original story: Bloody hell, this is a stinker from EA. UFC 4, the publisher's latest UFC sim, released in mid August to solid critic reviews. However, here we are less than a month later, and EA's decided to shove real world adverts into the experience. These ads don't just show up at the bottom of menus, either -- they appear right in the middle of your fights.

The game's Reddit community is understandably outraged, and players are starting to make their voices heard on social media as well. It's certainly not a good look for EA given the company's often controversial history, but only time will tell whether this movement has any effect, Here's hoping that it does.

Perhaps the most egregious thing about this, though, is that EA waited around three weeks or so before implanting these ads into the game. This means that when most professional publications reviewed the release, these ads didn't exist. It's fair to assume that had they been present at launch, this sh*tstorm would be much bigger.

What do you make of this? Knock yourself out in the comments section below.

khayman77 on September 5th, 2020 at 16:30 UTC »

It's like a competition they have with 2K games to try to prove who are the biggest scumbags of the industry.

Mr_Madruga on September 5th, 2020 at 15:48 UTC »

EA has long since stopped caring for their customers or their reputation for that matter.

bagman_ on September 5th, 2020 at 15:46 UTC »

sports games are just not worth playing anymore, always some predatory shit like this