Electronic Arts may be teasing a major shift in plans for its PC gaming library, if speculation about a recent official tweet proves true. EA currently hosts its extensive library of games on theEA Origin platform, where EA controls pricing and sales and also doesn’t have to offer up a revenue share to another platform’s owner. This decision has obviously been controversial with PC gamers, but isn’t necessarily uncommon. But EA may now be hinting that it’s ready to compromise and bring its games back to Steam.
The tweet in question was posted on the official EA Twitter account Friday afternoon. The tweet’s only text is an ellipsis, a “…” and nothing more. The attached image, however, is what’s stirring up rumors. The image is an EA-branded mug, its contents unknown, with steam rising from the top. The implication thatEA is bringing its games back to Steamseems clear, especially since such a message would be held over EA’s head for a very long time if it proved to be misdirection.
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But the rumor becomes persuasive considering that this isn’t the first evidence of EA bringing its games back to Steam. Twitter user RobotBrush found that Steam appears to be testing methods by which Steam users could buy Origin games and run them through Steam. This kind of test would require coordination betweenEA and Valve, implying a partnership of some kind is already in effect. It’s just a matter of bringing it to its conclusion, which would be selling EA’s games on Steam.
While evidence pointing to EA selling games on Steam again is persuasive, the scope of the partnership is anything but. EA clearly isn’t going to abandon Origin, especially given the reported success of theOrigin Access subscription service. So the question becomes whether EA would make all of its games available on Steam or just a selection of them. Bringing classic EA games likeMass EffectandDragon Ageto Steam while leaving recent live service titles likeAnthemandApex Legendson Origins seems likely. But anything’s possible.
Electronic Arts has two AAA game releases coming out later in 2019, which may be the reason why it’s could be bringing Origin games to Steam now of all times. The decision is especially interesting given that one of those games isStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. EA’s partnership with Disney forStar Warsgames has been controversial, to say the least. It could be possible that this decision is in part driven by EA’s want or need to ensureStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderis as successful as possible.
Given the teaser’s recent publication, expect news regarding EA’s plans for Steam sometime soon. So long as the rumors prove true, that is.
