An Austrian court’s ruling has stated that Sony will have to give refunds to players for FIFA 23 Ultimate Team packs as it constitutes illegal gambling. This earlier ruling is now set to go unchallenged by Sony, as per a new report. This would mean that PlayStation will be issuing refunds to plaintiffs for buying EA’s infamous FIFA loot boxes.
The ruling came out earlier this year when Austrian district court ruled in the favour of some PlayStation players against Sony Interactive Entertainment Network Europe Ltd. The court said that these players are owed a refund from the PlayStation Store as the items packed using these lootboxes can be sold on a secondary market which is the in-game transfer market of Ultimate Team. This effectively makes the lootboxes part of illegal gambling, as per the Austrian court.
If you’re wondering why Electronic Arts, the developer and publisher of the game, is not the one paying for it, it’s because the FIFA points are purchased through Sony PlayStation Store which makes Sony liable. FIFA points are then used in-game for opening packs and the content of those packs is pretty much down to an individual’s luck.
Sony To Refund FIFA 23 Players
Now, German site GamesMarkt claims in their report that Sony is actually not going to challenge this ruling from the court. The report claims that the court has not received any motion against the ruling from Sony and so the decision was made final last month in April. Sony now owes several hundred dollars to the plaintiffs ($364 to be precise). That’s not a big sum for an entity such as Sony to deal with.
However, Austrian legal firm Padronus said they have hundreds of other players who are interested in pursuing similar claims against Sony PlayStation Store for FIFA 23 lootboxes. Their website has also mentioned they will be pursuing claims in other titles such as Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Call of Duty.
Padronus’ website specifies FIFA, Counter-Strike, Fortnite and Call of Duty as examples of games for which it will pursue claims.
Representatives with Sony and EA did not return requests for comment.
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