EA Sports FC 27 is no longer a game for all ages, at least in Europe. The latest entry in EA’s football series has been rated PEGI 16. For years the series was rated PEGI 3, and this is the first time its age rating has gone up, all because of its loot boxes.
The rating covers FC 27’s in-game purchases, which include FC Points, a season pass and the player packs at the core of Ultimate Team. The content of the game hasn’t changed. It’s the same football it has always been. What changed is the rulebook.
PEGI’s new rules on loot boxes
In March, PEGI announced a major overhaul of how it rates games. Alongside violence, bad language and other content, it now looks at “interactive risk” features: in-game purchases, paid random items, online communication, and mechanics that keep players coming back.
Under the new system, any game with paid random items such as loot boxes gets PEGI 16 by default. Games with NFTs or blockchain features, or with fully unrestricted online chat, can be rated PEGI 18. Time-limited offers and mechanics that punish players for not logging in now push a game up to at least PEGI 12, while daily rewards can mean a minimum of PEGI 7.
The rules have applied to newly submitted games since June. That’s why FC 27 is one of the most high-profile games so far to be hit by the change. PEGI says the move brings it in line with Germany’s USK, which brought in similar rules in 2023.
A different story in North America
Players in the US and Canada won’t see the same change. The ESRB still rates FC 27 E for Everyone, with notes about in-game purchases and user interaction. Back in March, the ESRB said it doesn’t plan to follow PEGI, arguing that rating “non-content related features” could confuse parents.
What it means for players
PEGI ratings act as guidance for parents in most European countries, but the change could still matter. A PEGI 16 label on the box could put some parents off buying FC 27 for younger children, who have long made up a big part of the series’ audience. It also raises the question of whether EA will rethink how Ultimate Team packs work in future games.
EA has yet to comment on the new rating.