EA games will finally return to Steam, with EA Access launching on the digital storefront next spring while the publisher’s various games will also be able to purchase individually, including the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Previously, EA isolated its games to its Origin storefront, encouraging users to subscribe to an Origin Premier account — the PC-equivalent of EA Access — to receive full access to its library of games. Now EA games will make their return to Steam, with users also being able to subscribe to EA Access via Valve’s platform.
The announcement was made today in a joint statement from EA and Valve, with pre-orders of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order going live on Steam at the same time.
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“This is the start of an exciting partnership with Valve that will see us innovating for PC players around the world,” said EA CEO Andrew Wilson. “Through our subscription, great games and more, we’re excited to bring players in the Steam and Origin communities together with access to the best games, whenever and wherever they want to play.”
“This is a good day for gamers,” said Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. “We’re excited to partner with EA to not only bring their great games and subscription service to Steam, but also to open up our communities to each other in an unprecedented way that will benefit players and developers around the world.”
With Steam having lost many exclusives to Epic Games Store over the past year, this is huge news for Valve. EA has many major franchises under its umbrella, including its various sports titles such as FIFA and Madden, along with Fortnite competitor Apex Legends. Players on both Origin and Steam will have the ability to play together, while EA and Valve announced that games such as The Sims 4, Battlefield 5, and Unravel 2 will become available to play on Steam in the future.