After much outrage, EA pulls in-game ads from EA UFC 4
But just as a reminder, season two of “The Boys” can be found weekly on Prime Video!
It’s been full-on bashing season for avid video game players in recent days. Just check out the reviews for Madden NFL 21 and NBA 2K21 and you’ll notice a bit more anger than in years past. EA UFC 4 is no exception, especially with the decision to have in-game ads in the middle of fights.
Electronic Arts recently reversed course after massive uproar on Reddit over advertisement of the Amazon Prime series “The Boys” being shown in the middle of replay. Apparently these in-game pop-ups were not implemented until two weeks after the game’s full release, so this is not something reviewers would’ve been able to pick up right away.
Here’s the full statement from EA to Eurogamer on the matter:
“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.
“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.”
Of course, in-game advertising is hardly unique to the UFC video game, but perhaps the contingent of MMA fans who get enough fill of advertising in real-life don’t really care to have live ads sprung on them having already slapped $60 on the game itself.