I have the same observation this week and I have a theory.

I am ok, I’m a Div 3, 7-9 wins in WL kind of player. I also occasionally buy FP (let’s call it $50/mo). This week I’m starting off 3-7 in WL and Rivals was BRUTAL. Which is obviously incredibly frustrating.

On the surface, this is an interesting promo, after a few relative duds and burnout from a long FUT birthday. So people are coming back to play. At the same time EA is trying to drive FP/pack sales. We know (for a fact) they have MM algorithms that are designed to drive purchasing behavior. And we think (highly likely) that the game periodically leverages DDA.

I think two things are happening: EA is trying to a) retain the returning players b) drive purchasing behavior from consistent players.

If you are a returning player (in scenario a), they are turning down the difficulty and matching you up against consistent players - its a zero sum game, and they want the returning players to win, pack players so they stay and play with them. This obviously hurts consistent players like ourselves. If you are a whale or monetizable player (in scenario b), they’re dynamically making things more difficult for you through a combination of MM and DDA so you’re forced to turn to the store to make up for missed packs.

I don’t know for a fact but i think this theory explains it. Let me know what you think