The intricacies of how the digital farm manages thousands of PS4 Slims, each independently running FIFA, are unclear. The basic idea is that PCs are used to run bots, which then control how each console farms currency or FC 24 Coins Ultimate Team packs. It had to have been a lot of work to manage.

It just goes to show what kind of economy Electronic Arts has created around FIFA and its other sports games. It has made earning FIFA currency and in-game content so frustrating to earn that there's a market comparable to cryptocurrency mining thriving on selling these digital products to players.

The ninth generation of consoles has brought with it some major improvements to the gaming experience, but it's also brought new challenges to publishers and developers. Many companies are now trying find the best way to release next-gen upgrades for games on older consoles, and others are addressing this problem for games right around the corner. Two of Electronic Arts' most popular sports franchises, FIFA and Madden NFL, have new games on the way, but it looks like PS4 and Xbox One players may have to spend quite a bit to enjoy a next-gen experience.

The cheap Fut 24 Coins and Madden NFL franchises are slated to be another example of the added expense next-gen technology brings to gaming. With some publishers now feeling comfortable enough to offer Xbox Series X|S and PS5 games at $70 instead of $60. the cost of the newest gaming experience is going up. Next-gen upgrades for older versions of games can come at a cost, as seen with the PlayStation Plus version of GreedFall and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Although games like Subnautica have offered no-strings-attached next-gen upgrades, FC 24 and Madden NFL 22 will be different beasts.