As GamesIndustry.biz reports, EA is under fire again over loot boxes. Plaintiffs Jason Zajonc, Danyael Williams, and Pranko Lozano claim that EA is using its patented "Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment" technology to force players to buy loot boxes such as FIFA Ultimate Team packs to buy them, he claims. They also claim that this technology has been used in this way in several EA Sports games since 2017. For some of these games, EA has previously denied any use of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment.

According to the plaintiff, Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment can be used to automatically adjust the difficulty of a game so that the player decides to purchase a player pack to make the game enjoyable again. This is done, they say, by adjusting the player's stats to make them appear much weaker than their skills suggest: in FIFA terms, it slows down their running speed, speeds up their opponents, or induces them to miss passes. All of this ultimately leads to players buying player packs for something better.

"This harms EA Sports gamers and benefits EA because the difficulty adjustment mechanism leads gamers to believe that their teams are less skilled than they actually are and to purchase additional player packs in hopes of getting better players and becoming more competitive. It is a self-perpetuating cycle," the lawsuit states.

EA is accused of violating the California Consumer Protection Act, false advertising, and unjust enrichment, and the plaintiffs are seeking restitution and corrective action.

This is not the first EA patent alleged to be a method of encouraging profligate spending: EA itself, in a research paper prepared with university researchers, states that its engagement-optimizing matchmaking system "can be tailored to various interests, such as in-game time, or spending It stated. EA, however, flatly denied what is alleged in the lawsuit.

"We believe the allegations are baseless and misrepresent our games, and we will defend them," a representative said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of news that EA is facing a €10 million fine in the Netherlands regarding loot boxes.