EA Sports' upcoming title, College Football 27, is already drawing significant criticism from players due to the introduction of microtransactions in its traditionally non-monetized Dynasty and Road to Glory modes. These modes, which allow players to manage a college football program or a created athlete respectively, have historically offered a path to improvement through gameplay alone.
Sources indicate that players can now pay to instantly upgrade their coach or athlete, bypassing the usual progression tied to in-game performance. Reaching the maximum coach level of 100, for instance, would require approximately $100 worth of in-game points. Even the game's Ultimate Edition, which includes a significant amount of points, appears to necessitate further spending or a substantial time investment to achieve full progression.
This monetization strategy mirrors issues seen in other EA sports titles, such as NBA 2K, where similar pay-to-progress mechanics have been a recurring point of contention for the community. While Madden has also introduced microtransactions for player upgrades, College Football 27's approach is seen by many as a more significant departure.
Adding to player frustration is the concurrent removal of customizable XP sliders. In previous iterations of the College Football series, players could adjust settings to accelerate the leveling process for their coach or player. This allowed those who preferred shorter playthroughs to still experience full progression arcs within a reasonable timeframe. The current iteration of Dynasty and Road to Glory modes appear to have removed these customization options, with the default progression speed being the slowest available, while faster options have been removed entirely from Road to Glory.
Players have taken to social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit to voice their discontent. A prominent College Football streamer has initiated a boycott of the pay-to-level options using the hashtag #CFBPlayDontPay, which has reportedly trended on Twitter. Some players have stated their intention to skip the game altogether in response to these changes.
College Football 27 is scheduled for a general release on Thursday. GameSpot has reached out to EA for a statement regarding the player feedback and the implementation of these new monetization features. The publisher is expected to address the community's concerns in light of the widespread backlash.