In a dark portent of the battle for licensing of football games to come, FIFA has lost the J1 League license this year and that meant there was no King Kazu. In the end, it was a pivot to an exciting Bronze and Silver Australian A League team and features the terrifying striking force that is Hibs winger Martin Boyle and the aptly called David Ball. Like last year my team that was a bit underdog led to FUT 23 Coins
 a few to quit from rivals sporting million-coin outfits, and exposed Ultimate Team as a gilded farce.

I was still feeling the deep guilt of a double-digit loss when I was spotted by the pros however. When I saw more players rolling in, I realised that playing three players at the back is a swift method to overcome a deficit of 3-0 even if your wingers from the opposition have the slightest bit of pace (as they often do). It's all part of the course in terms of online multiplayer is concerned with fidgety twitching, and high emotions all over the place. It's the FIFA we've all played, at its very frustrating best.

However what Ultimate Team's bread & butter of buying and selling the snarky little guys is unrecommendable. Even if I still have some enjoyment every year, I don't pay for it. It's the barbarous nature in which you can quickly be pulled into debt by going all Gollum by purchasing one last player pack.

Beyond consolidating the transfer markets There haven't been any significant changes in EA's morally questionable approach to microtransactions. However, I did notice that the ratings increase during the flashy launch and makes it seem more as a one-armed bandit...

Despite continuous pressure from regulators, microtransactions with pay-to-win are, unfortunately, being a major issue for FIFA 23. Loot boxes can be found in the form of players-filled card packs within FIFA's well-known Ultimate Team mode. You can buy FIFA Points in bundles, starting around PS0.79 to get 100 FIFA Points and rising to an incredible PS79.99 with 12,000 FIFA Points. Premium Gold Packs cost 150 FIFA Points. It includes 12 gold-rated players or buy FIFA 23 Coins  consumables that can be used within the game or sold through the transfer market.

As for the company's policy, EA told Eurogamer that FUT's Lootboxes "are an element the game of FIFA that players enjoy," and that "giving players the freedom to spend if they want to is fair." The company doesn't have plans to change its strategy in the direction of "surprise mechanics" unless laws are passed that require it to. It doesn't make the situation any better however, it's worth mentioning that, because of those laws , you are able to currently set weekly limits on FIFA Points spending and pack being opened in Ultimate Team, and see the likelihood of getting a highly rated player before opening an actual pack. FIFA 23 also comes with time-bound Preview Packs where you can review the contents of the pack before you choose to buy it, but it's only currently available for one single card which can be refreshed every day.