Electronic Arts leaks personal details of up to 1,600 FIFA players

Electronic Arts says it may have leaked the personal information of as many as 1,600 players who registered to participate in a FIFA 20 esports competition.

The publisher opened registration for the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series at 1pm BST on Thursday October 3, but says it closed the sign-up process within half an hour after identifying a data breach.

As detailed by several FIFA players online, the personal information of users who had already registered for the competition was being displayed to others attempting to sign up. Leaked details reportedly included names, email addresses, dates of birth, countries of residence, plus console and EA account information.

EA addressed the data breach on Friday in a statement released via Twitter:

The top 32 competitors from the FIFA 20 Global Series will secure a spot at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2020 tournament.

The annual tournament, which is organised by FIFA in partnership with EA Sports, has been running since 2004.

Last year’s competition awarded $500,000 in prize money and reportedly attracted over 47 million online viewers.

FIFA 20 released for PC and consoles on September 27 and recorded the biggest physical launch week sales of 2019 in the UK, taking the crown from Borderlands 3.

“EA has delivered another worthwhile FIFA package, but while Street Football and FUT seasons breathe new life into some areas, others remain stagnant and barely improved,” reads VGC’s FIFA 20 review.

See what other critics think of the latest UK chart-topper in our FIFA 20 review round-up.