EA Access is finally making its way to the PS4. The EA service, which offers a subscription-based model with access to a variety of games from EA's publishing library, has long been absent from the platform with Sony once suggesting it was not good value. However, it appears as though Sony has had a change of heart.
The service initially launched back in 2014 for the Xbox One. EA Access offers up a selection of classic games from EA's past, known as 'the Vault', alongside the ability to have trial periods with new games. Titles that have been included in this EA Access Play First Trials include the likes of Anthem, which is currently giving EA pause for thought over its release process, and Battlefield 5, with players able to check out the new games for a period of up to 10 hours.
Initially this subscription service was just for the Xbox One, but eventually it did expand into the PC market via Origin Access. This left EA Access still excluded from Sony's PS4. However, Sony has decided to finally allow EA Access to be made available for PS4 users, with the subscription model set to launch in July of this year.
EA Access for PS4 will follow the same setup as the service for Xbox One. This means it will be available at $4.99 per month or $29.99 annually, and will offer up availability to the Vault as well as upcoming Play First Trial events as well. Currently included in the Vault are games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (although not the classic version that was recently added to Origin Access), Titanfall 2, and sports titles like NHL 19.
What makes the move to PS4 so interesting is that Sony was initially quite dismissive of EA Access as a whole. Back in 2014 when the service launched, the company stated that it believed EA Access did "not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect," doubling down by stating that it didn't think that "asking our fans to pay an additional $5 a month for this EA-specific program represents good value to the PlayStation gamer." Clearly, this perception has now changed.
Something that my have led to this is the fact that the subscription model has come a long way in the last five years. Sony itself has seen the benefit of this, with the PS4 and its subscriptions such as PS Plus and PS Now helping Sony to a record fiscal year. Because of this, perhaps Sony has seen the value in allowing extra subscription models on its device.
Source: Polygon