EA is the newest company to join the ranks of gaming subscription services with their new program, Origin Access. The announcement came through Origin’s Twitter account:
Origin is EA’s answer to Steam, offering downloads of EA’s extensive library of games playable only through the Origin client. Now, for only $4.99 a month, subscribers to Origin Access can have unlimited access to “endless PC gaming” and other exclusive offers.
First, there’s “The Vault”, a parallel to Sony’s PlayStation Now service. Subscribers are given a slew of full games, both old and new, to choose from that are immediately available to stream. There is no cap as to how many games can be streamed within a time period, so players can jump around the Vault’s library to their hearts content. Some titles that are currently available include the entire Dragon Age series up to Inquisition, Battlefield 4, and my personal favorite, This War of Mine. New games are promised to be added as time goes on.
Subscribers are also given access to Play First Trials and “not demos” of brand new games before they’re released to the public. These trials only last for a limited amount of time, but a subscriber’s progress can be transferred to the full game if they so choose to purchase it. This is the most interesting deal to me, as only very few games within recent memory have offered something similar. The First Play Trials do require internet access to play, unlike Origin’s standard games that are playable offline.
Finally, discounts are immediately awarded to gamers through Origin Access. All purchases made through Origin are automatically given a 10% discount, which can be stacked with existing sales and promotions. Discounts are applied to “DLC, new releases, third-party games, and everything in between”.
The subscription service is available now can be cancelled at any time, and if you choose to re-subscribe later down the road, all of the games purchased through Origin Access will still be available to you. At this time, the program is available to PC users only – sorry, Mac users!
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