Electronic Arts has announced it will remove microtransactions from its newly released College Football 27, reversing a decision that led to significant player backlash and negative reviews on Steam. The controversial features in question were implemented in the Road to Glory and Dynasty modes, allowing players to pay for faster XP progression.
This move marks the first time EA's college football series has been available on PC, and despite the game being considered one of the strongest entries in the franchise to date, its launch was overshadowed by player dissatisfaction with the monetization practices. These paid progression options, typically found in free-to-play or mobile titles, were particularly criticized for their inclusion in a full-priced game, especially within offline single-player modes.
In a statement released by EA Sports, the company acknowledged the player feedback, stating, "Your feedback on Road to Glory and Dynasty is that we’ve missed the mark with the introduction of paid progression options." EA further explained that these features were intended to offer players more choice but "not adding the value we intended." The company committed to removing these "paid progression" elements over the weekend.
Following the announcement of the microtransactions, College Football 27 experienced a surge of negative reviews on Steam, with many players expressing frustration over the inclusion of pay-to-progress mechanics in offline modes. As of this writing, the game had garnered a "Mostly Negative" rating, though EA's decision to remove the features is expected to shift this reception. EA also promised "greater transparency and communication" regarding live service features in future installments of the series.