EA Play has arrived on Steam
Another subscription service to add to your collection
Electronic Arts left Steam nine years ago to do their own thing with Origin, but over the last few months their games have been returning. Now, their subscription service, EA Play, is on Valve's platform, too, allowing you to play games like the Dragon Age series, Battlefield V, and more on Steam for a monthly or yearly fee. It's not just the old stuff EA are letting Steam have though, because you'll be able to access some of the publisher's new releases through the service as well.
For starters, EA Play is essentially a rebrand of Origin Access. But, while EA and Valve's breakup is pretty much over, Steam still isn't quite getting the whole deal with EA Play, because there's a Pro version of the service that you can only get on EA's own platform, Origin, for now.
So, Steam's EA Play will set you back £4/$5 month or £20/$30 a year, and gives you access to a library of slightly older, but still very good games - like The Sims 4, the Mass Effect series, some Need For Speeds, and lots more. You'll also be able to play 10 hours of "select" new releases before they launch, and get a 10% discount on "EA digital purchases from full games to DLC".
If you want the slightly beefier version of the subscription, you'll need to head to Origin for that, however. Over there you can get EA Play Pro, which gives you the same big library of games, but also full access to new ones as they come out. That will cost you £15/$15 a month or £90/$100 a year.
EA Play is available on Steam right now. You can also grab EA Play and EA Play Pro on Origin, if you'd prefer.
EA dropped Steam years ago to focus on Origin, but started putting games back on Valve's platform back in November. Over the last few months, EA games have been arriving on Steam in batches, with hints that the subscription service was on its way, too. There are loads of them on there now, and you can check out the full list on the website.