EA Play and EA Play Pro | Everything you need to know

Subscription services are all the rage right now. Don't think about how many different companies you're now subscribed to on a monthly basis as it will make you shudder. But they're hard to resist as they tend to offer great bang for the buck.

Through the last decade, third-party game developer and publisher Electronic Arts had two subscription services. There was EA Access, and then there was Origin Access. The former also came in an EA Access Premier tier. And to make things even more confusing, there is also Origin, the company's own online marketplace.

Ahead of the launch of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, EA looked to streamline its services. For the next generation of gaming, there is only one brand you need to think about: EA Play.

What is EA Play?

EA Play is a subscription video games service run by Electronic Arts, better known as EA. For a monthly fee, you get access to a large library of new and classic games from the famed developer. In addition, you receive a host of perks. This includes early access to games before they are released, member-only challenges, in-game rewards, invite-only event access and a 10% discount on purchases from the Origin Store.

There are two tiers to EA Play. There is EA Play Basic (which is the old EA Access and Origin Access services), and then there is EA Play Pro (which is the old EA Access Premier service).

How much does EA Play cost in Australia?

The basic EA Play plan costs $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The EA Play Pro plan is $19.99 a month or $129.99 a year.

However, as we will go into in more detail below, if you play on a Windows 10 PC, on an Xbox Series X/S or on an Xbox One, there is a more compelling subscription option. Access to the EA Play Basic plan is free as part of the Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which costs $15.95 a month.

EA Play vs EA Play Pro

The main difference between the two subscription services is the number of games you can access. As of the end of 2020, you could access 199 games on EA Play and 240 on EA Play Pro. Plus, nine of the games on both services have additional content on the EA Play Pro plan. The extra titles on the EA Play Pro plan tend to be the latest releases – EA games that have come out in the last two years.

If you have the EA Play plan, you can still play the 40+ games that are exclusive to the premium EA Play Pro plan. However, you're restricted to just 10 hours of gaming per title. It's worth noting that new games are added all the time, too.

* Valid as of December 2020

How does EA Play work on Steam?

After the best part of a decade of not seeing eye-to-eye, Electronic Arts and Steam – the PC gaming online store run by Valve – have rekindled their relationship. You can now buy some EA games, and even subscribe to EA Play, through Steam. However, the number of games available through EA Play on Steam is greatly reduced; just 48 as of December 2020. And it's not possible to subscribe to EA Play Pro through Steam.

EA Play and Game Pass Ultimate

As briefly mentioned above, the EA Play Basic plan is included as part of a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. We encourage you to read the full Game Pass Ultimate guide for all the details, but it's the best value service in gaming. In our opinion, it's a must own for any Xbox gamers, and is a compelling option for PC gamers, too.

Game Pass Ultimate brings with it access to a rotating library of around 150 games (including all Microsoft games on launch day), online play (which comes with an additional two free games a month), member-only game discounts, special trial access and a subscription to streaming game platform xCloud. Then, on top of that, you get EA Play and its huge library of games and perks.

Yes, it cost $15.95 a month, but you get so much more for your money it's a worthwhile upgrade for gamers considering EA Play.

List of games on EA Play

Below you will find a list of the games available on EA Play and EA Play Pro as of 2 December 2020. Note that the games you can access via your subscription may change by region or by format. For example, there are a number of PC-only games on this list that you cannot play on consoles.