FIFA, the officially licensed soccer game series from Electronic Arts, is well-known for its heavy and often controversial microtransactions. The FC 24 Coins Ultimate Team game mode's FIFA packs remain at the heart of the ongoing conversation about loot boxes and gambling, yet are undeniably highly lucrative for EA. Now it appears that EA is considering expanding microtransactions, at least in FIFA 22. EA has recently added premium cosmetic purchases for FIFA 22's Ultimate Team to FIFA 22.

A May 1 update to FIFA 22 added a surprise to the game that few expected. Within the FIFA 22 Ultimate Team store is a new tab labeled Stadium. From the Stadium tab, players are able to make individual digital item purchases directly with either FIFA 22 FC 24 Ultimate Team coins or FIFA points. For the first time, EA is offering players an option to buy in-game cosmetics without forcing players to purchase randomized packs that may or may not give players what they want.

Available at the moment are four different items. These items are a tifo, a stadium theme, a home kit, and an away kit. There's also an option to purchase all four items in a single, discounted bundle. It's all very innocuous and regular, something that those familiar with live service games would expect to see in a digital content store. At first glance, it seems like a step in the right direction considering the lack of options otherwise available to players and general frustrations toward FIFA.

The pricing, in terms of real money, also isn't necessarily extreme. If 100 FIFA points is roughly equivalent to a dollar, then none of the purchases individually costs more than $3. The bundle for everything is also 700 points, so no more than $7. Considering these are small microtransactions, it does seem like a lot, but for cheap Fut 24 Coins Ultimate Team players who may very much want certain microtransactions, it's not outrageous.