EA Says Loot Boxes are Just Surprise Mechanics

Kerry Hopkins, EA’s vice president of legal and government affairs, has told to the UK Parliament that loot boxes are just “surprise mechanics” like Kinder Eggs.

EA is getting most of their profits from FIFA Ultimate Team version’s loot boxes and has been desperate to prove to governments around the world that they are not gambling.

This week, it was the turn of the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee to hear a defence of the practice from both EA and Epic Games. Kerry Hopkins insisted that loot boxes are “surprise mechanics” and no different to toys such as Kinder Eggs or Hatchimals, which have been around, and tolerated, for years.

“We do think the way that we have implemented these kinds of mechanics – and FIFA of course is our big one, our FIFA Ultimate Team and our packs – is actually quite ethical and quite fun, quite enjoyable to people,” Hopkins said.

“We do agree with the UK gambling commission, the Australian gambling commission, and many other gambling commissions that they aren’t gambling, and we also disagree that there’s evidence that shows it leads to gambling. Instead we think it’s like many other products that people enjoy in a healthy way, and like the element of surprise,” Hopkins added.