Electronic Arts’ recent, but very well-publicized push onto Steam was one of the company’s highlights this year. For a number of players who did not have access to EA games on Origin, being able to play high-profile releases like the latest Need for Speed games, the it’s-good-now Battlefront 2, and the Battlefield franchise was a very welcome surprise indeed. Sure, you still need to access Origin in some ways, but Steam’s regional pricing and amazing availability even in the most remote of places paved the way for a lot more PC players to enjoy these AAA titles.
The push is not over yet, though, although this time EA is focusing on its service-within-service as the EA Play service for Steam launches this August 31. The service is currently available on EA’s Origin for PC as well as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and was also previously known as EA Access and Origin Access Basic. The service provides paying players access to some of EA’s best-known titles like The Sims 4, Need for Speed Heat, Titanfall 2, Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront and Plants vs. Zombies.
Besides the free games, EA Play members also get in-game benefits for some of EA’s latest titles like Madden NFL 21, FIFA 21 and Star Wars: Squadrons. The service also allows its members to try out select new releases for up to 10 hours (essentially paid demos) with the option to continue where they left off if they decided to buy said game. This is all on top of member discounts for full games, Season Passes, point packs and DLC content.
While the service itself has some glaring negatives, like paid demos that should be free for anyone who’s looking to make an informed purchase, EA Play can be beneficial to those who regularly enjoy EA’s AAA offerings all year round. EA Play comes in two packages: the basic one goes for $4.99 a month, while EA Play Pro – which comes with full access to all of EA’s new titles – is $14.99 per month. You can read more on Electronic Arts’ EA Play service here.
