EA announces simplification of EA Access and Origin Access

Just in time for the arrival of EA Access to Steam, Electronic Arts has announced it is simplifying its EA Access and Origin Access services by combining them into a single service under the new name of EA Play.

EA Play gets its new name as of tomorrow - August 18th - with the plan being that it'll be a simpler to understand service for the average consumer. EA Play will still include game trials, a library of full titles, along with discounts on all EA purchases. It will also include additional in-game challenges and monthly rewards at some point in the coming months. The latter sounds a lot like Microsoft's rewards system (catchily titled Microsoft Rewards) which encourages similar behaviour in exchange for reward points tied to Bing. By the sounds of things, rewards may be less flexible than Microsoft's service though with EA suggesting items such as Ultimate Team Packs playing a role here. 

Alongside EA Play will be EA Play Pro, formerly known as Origin Access Premier. In case that service has passed you by in the past, EA Play Pro costs more than EA Play but offers the ability to play full and new EA games on the day of release, much like Xbox Game Pass. EA's annual live event, EA Play, will be renamed EA Play Live to avoid confusion. 

Somewhat understandably, the Origin client will also be enjoying a significant revamp shortly with EA planning to build a "faster, smarter, more connected desktop app" as well as change names around accordingly. 

Essentially, EA Play is being revamped to be simpler to understand as well as potentially to be more competitive against the likes of Xbox Game Pass. However, EA hasn't been clear on whether the one subscription will get you access to the service on consoles as well as PC. Previously, EA Access has always been separated across the platforms. That could be the big selling point for many people, providing you with far more games assuming you have a games console as well as a PC. 

Either way, launching tomorrow means that EA Play will coincide with the Apex Legends Season 6 release date which is a big deal indeed and we have no doubt that this isn't a coincidence. 

What's in a name, you ask? Well, time will tell whether the name change will also lead to a brighter future for EA's subscription service.