Stop the hackers: How EA FC 25’s cheating scandal shocked me

As a seasoned gamer who has battled through countless online matches, I must say that my recent foray into EA FC 25’s Ultimate Team has left me utterly baffled and frustrated. It’s one thing to encounter the odd cheater in an FPS game on PC, but quite another when it starts affecting the football sim I thought was a haven from such shenanigans.


In one way or another, nearly every online game has encountered cheaters, and that includes FIFA 25 by Electronic Arts (EA). However, upon closer examination of the methods used, I’m astonished at how extensively hackers are undermining the integrity of Ultimate Team.

As a PC gamer, it’s almost inevitable to come across a hacker when playing multiplayer games like Call of Duty or Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. These titles, unfortunately, have had their share of players who seek unjust advantages, disrupting the gameplay for others.

As a PS5 user, I seldom encounter problems like this unless I choose to activate my crossplay settings. While I was aware that the PC version of EA Football Club 25 might have its share of unscrupulous players, I didn’t fully grasp the extent of the issue until I delved deeper into it.

After an unusual flurry of activity in the Ultimate Team PC market led to a near-extinction of meta players, many speculators suggested hackers could be responsible. The prevailing assumption was that these hackers were employing numerous temporary accounts to repeatedly win FUT Champions, subsequently transferring their earned coins back to their primary account.

I showed their claims were valid by participating in the Discord group of a well-known cheat provider. Over several days, I observed them strategizing various methods to influence the game, and was astonished at the level of planning involved.

Stop the hackers: How EA FC 25’s cheating scandal shocked me

In first-person shooter games such as Warzone, exploits are straightforward; they allow you constant visibility of opponents and frequently shield you from taking any harm. On the other hand, identifying if your opponent is manipulating the game or gaining an unfair advantage in a soccer simulation like EA FC isn’t always apparent.

Based on my observation, it appears the solution involves a modification that allows users to alter the gameplay adjustment knobs. These adjustments enable dishonest players to customize the game settings according to their preferences, such as influencing how their characters and opponents’ characters perform during a game.

In one interaction I overheard, a hacker suggested players should minimize their “Shot Inaccuracy” to the minimum level possible. In essence, this setting makes their shots incredibly precise, regardless of aim or force, so that every shot taken from a likely position has a high probability of landing in the top corner of the goal.

In some Ultimate Team games, it’s often hard to distinguish whether an opponent is exceptionally skillful or possibly using unauthorized methods. The uncertainty arises due to hackers subtly adjusting the game settings in ways that aren’t immediately noticeable, as numerous Discord conversations suggested.

Following the application of these strategies in FUT Champions to secure top-tier rewards, and then repeatedly utilizing them across several accounts, hackers can amass an impressive amount of coins all at once. One particularly talkative participant in the Discord chat bragged about earning two million coins from a single Weekend League alone.

Stop the hackers: How EA FC 25’s cheating scandal shocked me

An unusual surge of coins into certain player accounts leads to a continuous increase in the prices of top players in EA FC 25, making it extremely difficult, even impossible, to obtain many high-tier cards (or meta cards) in the market. For instance, upgraded Kylian Mbappe cards are almost nonexistent on the market and have been for several weeks now.

Experiencing everything directly has undeniably been an enlightening journey. Though the console market is always evolving, and we’ve encountered players who appeared suspicious, I never imagined hackers would go to such extremes or the magnitude of this problem. The community I joined had nearly 1,000 members, and that’s only one service provider.

It appears that EA FC 25 does employ an anti-cheat mechanism aimed at identifying and marking accounts suspected of unfair play. However, it seems that a significant number of hackers are managing to evade this system, leading to substantial problems, particularly in the more competitive game modes of Ultimate Team.

Furthermore, it seems that their primary tactic involves employing cheats through temporary accounts and moving the currency, making it simple for them to swiftly initiate a new account once the previous one is closed, even if it gets flagged as suspicious.

To effectively resolve this issue, it’s crucial to employ a hardware-blocking system similar to what Warzone has introduced in recent years. This system doesn’t merely ban the account and allow them to return with a fresh start. Instead, it restricts their entire computer from accessing the game, meaning the only option for re-entry is by swapping out their current setup.

Absolutely, hackers are resourceful and can usually find ways to circumvent security measures. Even games employing such systems haven’t fully eradicated this issue. However, by imposing stricter penalties, we may witness a decrease in the number of players inclined to use cheats.

One thing is certain, though, EA SPORTS need to act soon. Otherwise, the PC market on EA FC 25 may never recover.

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2024-11-12 18:49