In a dark portent of FIFA 23 Coins the football licensing wars to come, FIFA has lost the J1 League license this year, which meant no more King Kazu. It also led to a shift to an exciting Bronze as well as Silver Australian A League team and features the terrifying strike force of Hibs forward Martin Boyle and the aptly named David Ball. Like last time my team was the underdog and caused some angry quits from teams sporting million-coin costumes, exposing Ultimate Team as a gilded farce.

I still felt the deep shame of being a victim of a double digit thrashing when the pros found me out but. When more people started rolling in, I quickly noticed that playing three players at the back can be a quick route to a 3-0 deficit in the event that the opposing wingers possess the slightest bit of pace (as they often do). All in all, it's par for the course in terms of the online game is concerned, with fidgety twitching and emotion soaring all over the place. It's the FIFA we know, at its most frustrating.

Regardless however, Ultimate Team's bread butter of selling and buying ridiculous little players is difficult to recommend. While I'm still having a bit of enjoyment every year without having to pay, it's the brutal nature that it is easy to be dragged into debt by going full Gollum with one last precious player pack.

Beyond consolidating the transfer market the transfer market, there have been no substantial changes to the morally questionable way that EA handles microtransactions, but I did notice that ratings are now rising during the glitzy reveal that makes it feel even more like a bandit with only one arm...

Despite consistent pressure from regulators, microtransactions that allow players to win are undoubtedly a problem in FIFA 23. Loot boxes can be found in the form of player-filled packs in FIFA's popular Ultimate Team mode. You can buy FIFA Points in bundles, beginning from PS0.79 for 100 FIFA Points and rising to an incredible PS79.99 for 12,000 FIFA Points. Premium Gold Packs cost 150 FIFA Points, and includes 12 gold-rated players, or consumables that buying FUT 23 Coins can be utilized in-game or sold on exchange markets.