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Developer | Electronic Arts |
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Type | Subscription gaming service |
Launch date | August 11, 2014 (Xbox One) July 24, 2019 (PlayStation 4) August 31, 2020 (Steam) |
Platform(s) | Xbox One PlayStation 4 Microsoft Windows PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S |
Status | Active |
Website | www |
EA Play (formerly EA Access and Origin Access) is a subscription-based video game service from Electronic Arts for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows platforms, offering access to selected games published by Electronic Arts along with additional incentives.
As launched, EA Play was pitched to both Microsoft for the Xbox One and Sony for the PlayStation 4, although Sony initially declined to participate as they did not believe it provided value to their customers. [1] EA Play launched first to Xbox One on August 11, 2014, it later arrived to PlayStation 4 on July 24, 2019 [2] and then to Steam on August 31, 2020. [3] EA Play is also bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC for no additional cost.
EA Play membership can be purchased in one-month or twelve-month increments. [4] Members have unlimited access to the full versions of a selection of games published by EA, dubbed "the Vault", for as long as their membership is active. [4] If membership is suspended, the games can no longer be played, but all progress and game saves are retained. Members may also purchase games available from EA Play outright, along with other EA games and DLC, at a discounted price. [4] EA Play does not require users to have a paid Xbox Live membership, although a Gold-level membership is required for use of any multiplayer features that are included in Access-enabled games. [5]
Games are added to The Play List (previously known as The Vault) at EA's discretion, such as making a title available on Access a set number of days after its retail launch. [6] Although the Terms of Service allow EA to remove titles with 30 days' notice, [6] EA initially pledged that games will not be removed at a later date. [6] However, EA announced on July 20, 2017, that FIFA 14 would be removed on October 18, 2017, due to the decision to end online support for the title. [7] The game will remain playable in offline mode for users who installed it prior to its removal date, but if the game is removed from the console after that date, it cannot be reinstalled. [8] EA described the removal of FIFA 14 as a "unique circumstance specific to the title" that was not representative of their future plans for EA Play. [8] On April 26, 2018, it was initially announced that Rory McIlroy PGA Tour would also be removed on May 22, 2018, due to the game being delisted from the Xbox Store on that date, although, as of May 2021, the game remains available and playable on the service. [9] In 2020–2021 many third-party games were removed, and in April 2021 EA began removing older EA Sports games from the service.
Subscribers can play selected titles for a limited time of eight hours, this does not apply to the "Pro" subscription tier. EA described these early-release versions as not being more traditional demos, but instead full-featured but time-limited versions, with the exact extent of content varying from game to game. [10] Any progress earned within these limited versions will carry over to the full retail version. [4]
Games published on the EA Partners and/or EA Originals labels were initially not eligible for EA Play benefits. [11] However, Titanfall was added to the Vault in June 2015, as part of an E3 2015 promotion that also enabled a free trial for all Xbox One owners. [12] Titanfall 2 was also added in July 2017. However, EA Originals titles, such as A Way Out , Rocket Arena and Sea of Solitude , were added into the service. Additionally, it was announced that the forthcoming EA Originals title Knockout City would be available on the service (regardless of subscription tier) on its May 21, 2021, release date. [13]
EA Play subscribers are able to receive downloadable content for games in the Vault free at during various limited time periods, such as the Naval Strike and Second Assault DLCs for Battlefield 4 . [14] Subscribers who download the free DLCs offered during the free period are able to keep them regardless of subscription status. On May 3, 2016, Premium access for Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline were offered free for a limited period of time, enabling subscribers to download all released expansions for both games at no cost. [15] Although Battlefield 4 Premium content can only be accessed with an active subscription, subscribers were allowed to keep Hardline Premium features regardless of subscription status. The season pass for Star Wars Battlefront was made available at no cost for subscribers on July 7, 2017. [16]
On February 29, 2016, EA Play expanded to include Xbox 360 titles via the Xbox One's backward compatibility feature, starting with the original Plants vs. Zombies . [17] Dead Space was added (without any official announcement) on March 31. [18] On January 17, 2018, Black , released for Xbox in 2006, was added to the Vault.
EA announced that alongside bringing its catalog back to Steam in October 2019, that it would also release a version of EA Play for Steam users with a library comparable to the Xbox and PlayStation versions. [19] The first set of these games were added to Steam in June 2020. [20] [21]
Ahead of the launch of EA Play to Steam on August 31, 2020, [3] EA announced the re-branding of EA Play and Origin Access to EA Play starting August 18, 2020 across both computer and console. The previous basic EA Play and Origin Access Basic subscription tiers would be treated as EA Play, while the Origin Access Premier would become EA Play Pro. No other changes to the service or prices were planned otherwise. [22] EA Play on Steam and EA Play on Origin are separate subscriptions, with the latter having a significantly larger library of games despite being the same price.
EA partnered with Microsoft so that Xbox Game Pass subscribers would have access to the basic EA Play service at no additional cost. It is included in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass for PC. Xbox users got access to the feature on November 10, 2020, to coincide with the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, whereas the Windows launch was postponed from its original date of December 15, 2020 to March 18, 2021. [23] [24] [25]
EA has announced plans to retire the Origin client for personal computers in favor of the new EA app to support EA Play and EA Play Pro. The beta for the EA app launched in September 2020. [26] The EA app is required to access EA Play with Xbox Game Pass. [27]
EA Play debuted in beta form exclusively on Xbox One on July 29, 2014, [4] and was officially launched on August 11, 2014. [28] Electronic Arts approached both Sony and Microsoft with the service, but Sony declined to make it available on their PlayStation 4 console. [29] A similar version called Origin Access launched on January 12, 2016, on PC. [30]
Shares of video game retailer GameStop, which sells both new and used games, fell over five percent after Electronic Arts' announcement. [31] A similar price drop occurred after PlayStation Now was first announced and that the stock price subsequently recovered. [31] GameStop will be one of the retailers selling EA Play memberships. [31]
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) with pictures or endorsements, it soon grew up to become a sub-label on its own, releasing game series such as EA Sports FC, PGA Tour, NHL, NBA Live, and Madden NFL.
The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox LIVE, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original Xbox console on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service, adding the Xbox Live Marketplace, became available with the Xbox 360 console launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. The service is used on the latest Xbox Series X and Series S and, in addition to a Microsoft account, is the account for Xbox ecosystem; accounts can store games and other content.
The James Bond video game franchise is a series centering on Ian Fleming's fictional British MI6 agent, James Bond. Games of the series have been predominantly shooter games, with some games of other genres including role-playing and adventure games. Several games are based upon the James Bond films and developed and published by a variety of companies, The intellectual property is owned by Danjaq.
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartphones, tablets, Blu-ray players and high-definition televisions. It succeeded Sony Entertainment Network in 2015 and this service is the account for PlayStation consoles, accounts can store games and other content.
EA, also known as EA Desktop and formerly known as Origin, is a digital distribution platform for Microsoft Windows and macOS, developed by Electronic Arts for purchasing and playing video games. In October 2022, Origin for Windows was discontinued, directing players to the EA App, with the macOS version remaining as the primary method for users to download and play EA games on that platform.
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using some type of microtransaction system.
Ubisoft Connect is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications service developed by Massive Entertainment to provide an experience similar to the achievements/trophies offered by various other game companies. The service is provided across various platforms. Ubisoft Connect is used exclusively by first-party Ubisoft Entertainment games, and although some third-party ones are sold through the Ubisoft store, they do not use the Ubisoft Connect platform.
In the video game industry, digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, without the exchange or purchase of new physical media such as ROM cartridges, magnetic storage, optical discs and flash memory cards. This process has existed since the early 1980s, but it was only with network advancements in bandwidth capabilities in the early 2000s that digital distribution became more prominent as a method of selling games. Currently, the process is dominated by online distribution over broadband Internet.
Online console gaming involves connecting a console to a network over the Internet for services. Through this connection, it provides users the ability to play games with other users online, in addition to other online services.
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013 and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name "Xbox One". An eighth-generation console, it mainly competed against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U and later the Switch.
Titanfall is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Windows and Xbox One on March 11, 2014; an Xbox 360 version ported by Bluepoint Games was released April 8, 2014. The game was anticipated as the debut title from developers formerly behind the Call of Duty franchise.
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