EA returns guest play to FIFA 18 Ultimate Team after a sustained campaign from players
Wenger out.
EA has added guest play to FIFA 18 after a sustained player campaign that put pressure on the developers to reverse its controversial decision to omit the popular feature from the game.
EA came under fire from some FIFA fans when FIFA 18 launched and players discovered guest play was absent from FIFA Ultimate Team.
Guest play, which was in last year's game, enables two players to team up to play FUT Online Seasons and FUT Online Draft. A lot of fans love the mode - indeed for some it is the only reason to buy the game - so when its mysterious absence from FIFA 18 was discovered, the community cried foul, and some who felt they were deceived by EA's lack of pre-warning even demanded a refund.
The videos below are just two examples of FIFA fans who were upset at the lack of guest play.
Why did EA pull guest play from the game? Two weeks ago a FIFA community manager took to EA's website to say guest play was removed "to create competitive balance for all players", and pointed to the fact Guest Mode was still available in Friendly Seasons and Single Online Matches in FUT.
The idea here, it seemed, was two players taking on a solo player online was unfair, but that explanation didn't do much to quell the growing unrest.
In response, the FIFA community created the #bringbackguest hashtag to drum up online support. An online petition on Change.org received over 10,000 signatures. This campaign has done the trick. This morning, EA announced the return of guest play, effective immediately.
Here's the post on EA's website:
"We have heard your feedback about guest functionality in FUT Online Seasons and FUT Online Draft and are happy to announce that we have added this functionality back into FIFA 18 PS4/XB1/PC effective immediately."
Currently there are some guest play on-screen elements, specifically in the match setup flow, missing. These will be added via a title update in the future, EA said.
In the meantime, to add a guest in FUT Online Seasons and FUT Online Draft, search for an opponent in either mode, make sure you have a second controller turned on and signed in to an account, then press triangle on PS4, Y on Xbox One or the Add Guest button prompt on PC to add a guest.