EA College Football 27 launched today with pay-to-progress microtransactions buried in its single-player modes, and the backlash has been immediate. But for Sims players, the real story is what this means for every game EA publishes going forward, including The Sims.
What happened with EA College Football 27
EA College Football 27 is a $70 game. On top of that price, it now charges players real money through a virtual currency called College Football Points to upgrade their Coach's skills in Dynasty mode. The pricing runs from $4.99 for 500 points up to $149.99 for 18,500 points. According to Insider Gaming, maxing out a coach costs roughly $100, more than the base game itself.
EA also removed the faster progression settings that existed in the previous game, meaning paid upgrades are now the only shortcut. The company revealed the monetization system just two days before launch, using creators in the EA Creator Network to communicate it rather than making an official statement. YouTuber Bordeaux started the hashtag #CFBPlayDontPay in response, which has been trending as players flood EA's official accounts demanding the system be removed.
Developers at EA who worked on the game reportedly knew about the forced implementation for months and were, according to Insider Gaming's anonymous sources, "livid" about it. EA's response so far has been to stand firm. One source told Insider Gaming bluntly: "It doesn't matter how loud the noise is, unfortunately. A band-aid might be put out to make people happy in the short term, but additional costs for players are going to be added moving forward."
Why this matters for The Sims
This is not an isolated decision. Insider Gaming reports that EA is systematically adding monetization across its entire portfolio to service approximately $20 billion in new debt from the company's private buyout by Saudi Arabia's PIF, Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake. UFC 6 will have paid expansions for the first time. Madden 27 gets more monetization. EA FC will add paid features to its upcoming mode. Even future single-player-only titles are included.
A February 2026 report from Sims Community described a restructuring plan for The Sims franchise specifically, citing "subscription models, digital storefronts with paid and virtual reward currency, deeper engagement events" and increased EA involvement in creative direction. The Sims 4 already introduced its own virtual currency, Moola, and a Marketplace system earlier this year.
The pattern here is straightforward: EA's new ownership structure requires aggressive revenue extraction from every franchise in its portfolio. College Football 27 is the first major release to show what that looks like in practice, a full-price game with progression deliberately slowed to push players toward spending more. Sims Community draws a direct line between this and what players should expect from The Sims Project X, the next mainline Sims game.
The creator network problem
One detail worth flagging for Sims players specifically: EA used its Creator Network to communicate the College Football 27 monetization changes instead of making a direct public statement. As Bordeaux put it, EA is "using creators to push their messaging without making a statement themselves or addressing anything." This is the same Creator Network structure that operates within The Sims community. It raises questions about how much transparency players can expect when similar changes arrive for Sims titles.
Nothing about The Sims Project X's monetization model has been confirmed. But the direction EA is heading is now visible across multiple franchises, and Sims players have reason to watch closely how this plays out.
Source: Sims Community via Google News - The Sims 4