EA says it’s sorry for briefly adding adverts to UFC4 matches

Electronic Arts has apologised for briefly adding advert placement during UFC 4 game matches.

Advertisements reportedly started appearing as UI overlays during game replays this weekend, causing fans to vent their frustration in a Reddit thread with a huge 90,000 upvotes.

Many fans on Reddit take issue with the fact that UFC 4 is a full-price release and not a free-to-play title, where in-game advertising such as this is widely accepted. They also express frustration that the ads were added weeks after the game’s release and thus were not able to be scrutinised in press reviews.

EA later acknowledged the community’s reaction to the UFC 4 ads and published a statement claiming that the feature had been removed and would not reappear in the future.

“Earlier this week, the team turned on ad placements in EA SPORTS UFC 4 that appeared during the ‘Replay’ moments in gameplay,” the statement reads.

“This type of advertising inventory is not new to the UFC franchise, though we have typically reserved displaying ads to specific main menu tiles or Octagon logo placement.

“It is abundantly clear from your feedback that integrating ads into the Replay and overlay experience is not welcome. The advertisements have been disabled by the team and we apologize for any disruption to gameplay that players may have experienced.”

EA added: “We realize that this should have been communicated with players ahead of time and that’s on us. We want to make sure our players have the best possible experience playing EA SPORTS UFC 4, so ad integration in the Replay and overlay experience will not be reappearing in the future.

“Thank you for your continued feedback on EA SPORTS UFC 4.”