We still can’t stream video games in quite the same way we stream music and television shows, but we’re getting there. Electronic Arts took a major step in the right direction on Tuesday when it launched its Origin Access subscription service on Windows, which gives subscribers unlimited access to a Vault of fifteen games for $4.99/month. Subscribers are also given a 10% discount on all purchases through the Origin store, which is basically Steam’s only major competitor, and the only real limitation of the service is that’s it’s limited to Electronic Arts games. Considering how that includes the latest Battlefield, Dead Space, and Dragon Age games, however, it’s not that bad of a limitation.
Electronic Arts just gave Windows gamers a chance to level up. EA Origin Access is a new subscription service that gives members access to a library of games available to install and play whenever they want. The $4.99 monthly fee also comes with a 10% discount on all Origin Store purchases and pre-release access to EA’s upcoming games. If you’re familiar with the EA Access subscription service on Xbox One, this is essentially the PC equivalent. Early access time varies from game to game, but you get to play a set number of hours of a finished game a few days before its release. If you end up buying it, all progress you make during the trial time is saved. Origin Access is launching with 15 games available in The Vault, which is the banner that all the free games live under. The titles available now are: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Battlefield: Hardline, Battlefield 4, The Sims 3, FIFA 15, Need for Speed Rivals, SimCity (the 2013 game), Battlefield 3, Dead Space 3 and This War of Mine. If Origin Access grows anything like its Xbox sibling has (and it almost certainly will), you can expect more games to enter The Vault over time. All of the games there are free to play as long as you subscribe to the service.
