Recently, Electronic Arts (EA), a major American game company, has limited the sale of certain paid content for its popular soccer game 'FC 26' in Korea due to the impact of the law mandating disclosure of probability-based item information. Korean users cannot purchase the 'Ultimate Edition,' which includes a microtransaction feature, marking it as the only blocking measure in the world alongside Russia.
According to the gaming industry on the 17th, EA recently began pre-orders for 'FC 26' and blocked sales of the Ultimate Edition to Korean users on the Steam platform. This edition includes 'FC Points,' a paid in-game currency, which is used for purchasing probability-based items called 'packs' that contain random player cards. The standard edition can be purchased normally.
According to the Steam databases, the Ultimate Edition is blocked only in Korea and Russia. EA's PlayStation pre-order page also specifies that "FC Points cannot be purchased in Belgium and Korea."
Belgium is an EU country that legally prohibits probability-based items by considering them gambling, and Korea introduced similar regulations through revised gaming industry laws last March. According to the revision, game companies must clearly display the probabilities of winning items and related information through various channels such as in-game notifications, websites, and advertisements, and violations can result in corrective orders or imprisonment of up to two years or fines of up to 20 million won.
The Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) stated, "We are continuously informing overseas game companies about relevant legal provisions, and we understand this measure as a matter of the operators' voluntary judgment."
Meanwhile, 'FC 26' is scheduled for official release in September and is the latest installment in the 'FC' series developed by EA. In Korea, related series such as 'FC Online' and 'FC Mobile,' serviced by Nexon, are operating successfully, and Nexon is disclosing probability information in accordance with local regulations.