We are just a few days away from the launch of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and with the consoles comes a slew of launch games, of course. But for many people, it also means instant access to EA Play.
EA's own game subscription service is joining Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no extra charge for subscribers beginning on launch day for the new generation of Xbox, and that means of dozens of games from EA's back catalog, like Star Wars Battlefront 2, Madden NFL, FIFA, and Unravel will be downloadable and playable for all subscribers.
Now we know, thanks to one games journalist who spotted the feature, that the EA Play library is available for pre-download on all Xbox consoles. The Verge's Tom Warren revealed it on Twitter.
"Xbox Game Pass subscribers can now preload EA Play games ready for the launch next week. You can download all games, but they won't be unlocked until November 10th."
The Xbox team recently added such a feature which allows players to install any game they wish, even if they haven't bought it. It doesn't work if you haven't bought it or it's not in Game Pass, of course, but it's been praised as a unique and welcome quality of life feature for the Xbox digital store. This way players can install things on a whim, which means should they buy it later, they no longer need to wait for the install. Presumably, Microsoft likes the idea too because an installed game that isn't purchased yet suddenly must look much more attractive in a consumer's digital cart.
EA Play currently offers over 70 games spanning the last several years of EA games. Oldies like the Dead Space trilogy and the ever-changing Plants Versus Zombies franchise are included alongside blockbusters like the Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age series, and the full backlog of EA Sports titles excluding this year's simulations.
EA games are typically added 6-12 months after they launch at retail, though some exceptions have been made, such as the recent Rocket Arena, which EA seemed to regret not just launching as a free to play game. Within weeks of launch, it was marked down to $5 from its starting price of $30 and fully playable for EA Play subscribers. The hero shooter fared well critically, with a 71 average, but it didn't find much of an audience at launch, leading EA to quickly call an audible and try and boost the game out of the gate.
There seems to be some teasing that something else Star Wars related is coming to the service, and thus Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, on November 19. We have our pet theory, but confirmation should be just around the corner.
