Spencer FC doesn't "feel comfortable endorsing" FIFA Ultimate Team anymore

Talk to any FIFA fan who watches videos about their favourite football game on YouTube and you'll hear of a golden age of FIFA content. A time when things were less cynical, less toxic, and perhaps driven more by a love of football, FIFA and YouTube, and less of pure profit.

And while it may be a case of looking back with rose-tinted glasses the world of FIFA Youtube between 2014-17 just felt different with creators like Zeerka, MattHDGamer, and Spencer "Spencer FC" Owen, providing content around FIFA Ultimate Team that was fun and creative.

Spencer FC, in particular, took it to another level with many holding fond memories of his Wheel of Futune series, where the Hashtag United owner would spin a wheel which had challenges adorned on it. Landing on one would present him with a challenge like playing his next game with 11 goalkeepers. It ran for three seasons and attracted millions of viewers.

Spencer's Wheel of Futune was watched by millions. (Picture: Spencer FC)

So popular was the series that fans still message him to this day, three years since he last made it, asking when it is returning and in a recent YouTube video he made it clear the chances of that happening are slim.

• Read more: Shocking evidence emerges that proves Jeremy Lynch was right, The F2 were cheated out of Wembley Cup 2018 match

And while Spencer FC laid out several reasons that make it more difficult to make FIFA videos for YouTube including limited time due to his commitments with Hashtag United, the non-league club he runs and owns a job he likens to "real-life FIFA". He makes it clear that at a more fundamental level FIFA Ultimate Team, the game mode which the majority of his videos were based on, is not something which he would want to "endorse" anymore.

it clear he has fallen "out of love" with the current state of FIFA Ultimate Team and the amount of money it takes to remain competitive are the biggest reasons he couldn't bring his FIFA videos back.

"I find it really hard to get over how much money you guys are having to spend to enjoy that game mode," explained Spencer.

"In the past when I have done 'Wheel of Futune' obviously I put a lot of money into the game through points but it's my job I can legitimize it cause I actually get a return on that investment," referring to the money he makes from running a successful YouTube channel.

"When I am doing it I am thinking about how much money it costs to get a good team, how much money you guys are obviously spending at the other end of it, and I don't feel comfortable endorsing that." It is a remarkable statement from a man who built much of his career off the back of the game mode, which has been accused of "normalising gambling for children" and has been or is the subject of a number of lawsuits across the world.

Spencer makes the comparison with Call of Duty and it post-game monetisation which is exclusively cosmetics and not pay-to-win mechanics.

"Any many you put in that game [Call of Duty] doesn't improve you, it just makes the experience a bit more fun, which is how it should be."

Spencer does concede that for some it is worth it, but that it is a minority, "if you are a pro player it is very different."

"You have the ability to make a return on that investment. You can go to an event and make £100,000," offering up the example of Hashtag's Tom Leese who won the ePremier League and taking home £20,000.

Hastag Tom won the ePemier League for Watford F.C (Picture: Premier League)

However, for Spencer, a self-described FIFA hobbyist, even without the ethical concerns the game mode has lost its way.

Issues with lag and "sweaty guys" have sucked the fun out of it for Spencer.

"I can say stuff about the game changing all I want, what it really comes down to is... I don't want to. I don't have that drive to play that game mode. I don't want to play Ultimate Team anymore.

As time goes on, more and more legal issues continue to make a stronger case against business practices in which modes like Ultimate Team are built upon. Perhaps, as the tides change, Spencer could make a triumphant return that pleases both old and new fans alike.