Electronic Arts is currently in the process of inserting more “dynamic” advertising into its AAA titles, and the development has sparked a lot of righteous outrage from gamers in general, despite how “thoughtful” CEO Andrew Wilson says the company is handling the matter.

AAA games already cost a hefty $60 or $70 to buy, and as long as games exist, not having ads is always included in that premium price. Ultimately, though, publishers like EA will consider anything that will bring in more money in the long run. And for that reason, they should consider something I’ve been thinking about for a while, especially now that they’re looking to add ads: making EA FC free-to-play.

Even before the series transitioned from FIFA to EA FC, I felt that it would be better for both EA and the consumer if their global football sim cash cow became free-to-play. With Ultimate Team becoming such a central focus of the game, EA FC is very much a live service game at this point, and making it free-to-play would actually make it more effective.

If EA insists on placing ads in the game, the only way its player base would be able to tolerate them is if they were playing a free-to-play title. NBA 2K rightfully received a lot of criticism for placing non-skippable ads in their full-priced games, and EA would be wise not to do so. There is also a strong financial reason to do it this way, as any advertising deals they make would become much more valuable on a free-to-play title, which leads to the second point.