According to Google Gemini
This kind of marketing is often referred to as "bait and switch," where a company advertises a desirable feature to lure in customers, only to reveal later that the feature is not included in the advertised product but requires an additional purchase.
2. Legal and Financial Consequences
The consequences for such a violation would mirror those for aggressive practices, and in some cases, might be even more likely to be pursued by consumer protection bodies.
- Fines Based on Turnover: As mentioned before, the EU's "New Deal for Consumers" allows for fines of up to 4% of a company's annual turnover in the relevant member state(s). This is the most significant financial risk. A successful action across multiple EU countries could result in fines in the tens or even hundreds of millions of euros for a company the size of EA.
It is not possible to give a precise percentage, but based on recent developments in EU law and enforcement, the chance of EA receiving fines for these types of misleading practices is extremely high.
This is due to three key factors: a powerful new legal framework, a clear regulatory focus on the gaming industry, and the proactive actions of consumer organizations.
The combination of these factors—a modern legal framework with teeth, a clear regulatory target, and a formal complaint from consumer advocacy groups—means that the risk of fines for EA is a very real and present danger. It is not a matter of if it could happen, but rather when and how severely the fines will be.
