The company has solved the problem and is now punishing nefarious players

Sep 21, 2012 08:14 GMT  ·  By

After hearing that the FIFA 13 Ultimate Team web app suffered from a huge exploit that allowed users access to top players, EA has now solved the problem and has begun issuing permanent bans to those who took advantage of the glitch.

FIFA 13 is out next week but, in order to give loyal fans a head start in the game’s special Ultimate Team feature, a web app has been made available.

Sadly, while EA pledged to bolster the security of the feature in the game, the web app wasn’t as safe, as an exploit was quickly found by users who took advantage of the loophole in order to access top players and then sell them to others for in-game currency.

The exploit became public yesterday and EA quickly took down the web app for “maintenance”, although it didn’t make any statement about the issue, prompting angry responses from actual Ultimate Team users.

Now, the company has posted an official statement, confirming that a “very small number” of players accessed restricted card packs featuring rare stars like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo and then sold them to others.

"Yesterday, a very small number of users attempted to gain an unfair advantage on the FUT Web App. The FUT13 Web App had to be taken offline to be stabilized and ensure a level playing field for all FUT users," EA said.

"Permanent bans for FIFA 13 FUT have been served to all users who attempted to gain an unfair advantage. Thanks for your patience while we create the best experience for all fans of FUT."

This exploit has now been fixed and the FIFA 13 Ultimate Team web app is back online, according to the company, so users who didn’t use any exploits can still take advantage of the service until next week, when FIFA 13 is released on platforms like the PC, PS3, or Xbox 360.