How one YouTuber helped save ‘College Football 27’ players from microtransactions — at least for now
College Football 27, EA Sports’ latest installment of the popular pigskin video series, was released last week to both great fanfare and critical acclaim.
A major sticking point for college football and gaming fans was the introduction of microtransactions, a practice that involves paying real money to unlock features in the game.
Microtransactions are becoming increasingly popular in modern video games, but the idea of including them in the latest college football game seemed absurd even a year ago.
YOUTUBER BORDEAUX DIES INTO EA SPORTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL 27’S ‘MICRO TRANSACTIONS’
The move comes as ‘NCAA Football 24’ will be released this summer. (College Football Hall of Fame)
Many fans dismissed the idea of microtransactions and voiced their displeasure on social media, and none were more vocal than YouTuber Bordeaux.
The content creator has been the spearhead of a grassroots campaign to get EA to remove microtransactions from the game entirely, even adopting the hashtag #CFBPlayDontPay.
Bordeaux wasn’t the only content creator trying to hold EA Sports accountable, but he was one of the biggest and first to do so, a move that could have been detrimental to his career as a college football video game YouTuber.
I asked him if that factored into his decision to lead EA in our interview last week, but Bordeaux insisted it didn’t cross his mind.
Fans have searched for a release date for EA Spotrs college football game. (Photos by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“No matter what, I’ve never needed a partnership to do something,” Bordeaux said, referring to his long-standing partnership with EA. “The game is great, I’ll never back down from that idea. It’s just the fact that they put in those microtransactions, that’s when I have to draw the line and say, ‘Don’t waste money on this.’
It would seem that Bordeaux’s efforts have paid off, as EA announced that they will end microtransactions in this year’s version of their game in a lengthy post on X late last week.
Although the move was (and should be) seen as a winner in the online community – prompting Bordeaux himself to post a video on his YouTube channel entitled “We Won” – the language used by EA about “providing service plans for CFB28” may mean that this victory is temporary.
Regardless, for now, it looks like Bordeaux has accomplished what they set out to do when this whole fight started.
An attendee holds a Microsoft Xbox controller while playing a video game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles, California, United States, June 17, 2015.
“I wanted to speak my mind the way I feel, and raise awareness about it,” Bordeaux said last week. “Because I felt it was wrong, many of us creatives were blindsided… I wanted to say my piece, draw my line and say ‘I can’t work with them after this.’
“I was hoping that they would talk about it and listen to the public.
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With the news that EA will be rolling back microtransactions, there’s a chance Bordeaux will find a way to get back to them for a partnership somewhere down the line.
When I asked him what the road back to EA would look like, Bordeaux put it simply.
“Remove microtransactions completely, bring back all the features they removed, and never go to the point of making “Kingdom” and “Road to Glory” a mode with microtransactions, especially offline.
“If they really take that position, I’m fine with it,” he said.
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For now, it looks like Bordeaux got its wish, and can confidently declare victory for the gaming community.
His impressive fight against an almost universally hated practice in the gambling community is to be admired, and shows the power we have as consumers.
