EA Removes In-Game Ads From UFC 4 & Apologises Following Backlash
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EA has removed in-game ads from EA Sports UFC 4 and apologised following a fan backlash.
The in-game ads weren't present when the game launched, but added in weeks later. One particular ad promoting the second season Amazon Prime's The Boys was spotted by Reddit user Ydino and posted with the title "EA decided to add full-on commercials in the middle of gameplay in a $60 game a month after its release so it wasn't talked about in reviews," gaining over 91,000 upvotes.
This level of advertising was particularly egregious, with a near-full screen ad popping up at the beginning and end of an in-game replay, before another smaller ad popped up near the bottom of the screen during gameplay. Fans voiced their displeasure at the prospect of being advertised to in a game they had already paid full priced for, especially during gameplay, and EA has responded by pulling the ads and apologising in a statement.
"Earlier this week, the team turned on ad placements in EA SPORTS UFC 4 that appeared during the "Replay" moments in gameplay," the statements reads. "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."
[via Eurogamer]