Publishing giant EA is once again being taken to court over its use of loot boxes in football blockbuster, FIFA. As spotted by GamesIndustry.biz, a class-action lawsuit against EA has been filed with the US District Court of Northern California. Plaintiffs Jason Zajonc, Danyael Williams, and Pranko Lozano are alleging that the publisher uses its patented ‘Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment’ technology, which uses AI to tweak how hard the game is in real-time to keep players engaged. In the past, EA has denied that it uses this technology. “EA’s undisclosed use of Difficulty Adjusting Mechanisms deprives gamers who purchase Player Packs of the benefit of their bargains because EA’s Difficulty Adjusting Mechanisms, rather than only the stated ranking of the gamers’ Ultimate Team players and the gamers’ relative skill, dictates, or at least highly influences the outcome of the match,” said the lawsuit. “This is a self-perpetuating cycle that benefits EA to the detriment of EA Sports gamers, since Difficulty Adjusting Mechanisms make gamers believe their teams are less skilled than they actually are, leading them to purchase additional Player Packs in hopes of receiving better players and being more competitive.” In a statement, EA said: “We believe the claims are baseless and misrepresent our games, and we will defend.” This is the latest drama that Electronic Arts is facing over its use of loot boxes. Last month, a class-action lawsuit was filed against EA in Canada, in addition to being fined €10 million in The Netherlands. The publisher has said that it will challenge that penalty.
