[UPDATE: 3/20, 3:23 PM] At some point during the process of integrating EA Play to Xbox Game Pass, Madden NFL 21 was moved from EA Play Pro to regular EA Play. Now, anyone with Xbox Game Pass for PC has full, unlimited access to Madden NFL 21. Pretty cool! FIFA 21 is still an EA Play Pro title.
Starting tomorrow, it will be even easier to try out your favorite sports game. Back in September, Microsoft announced it would be folding EA Play into Xbox Game Pass. EA Play (the service, not the event) is a relatively young service. Electronic Arts converted EA Access and Origin Access into EA Play last August. For just $5 a month, players could download and play a number of games from a curated library of EA titles. EA Play subscribers also got a 10% discount on EA titles that weren’t on “The Play List.”
Technically, this is the second part of the EA Play integration. EA Play joined Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on consoles back in November 2020. Starting tomorrow, EA Play games that were available for download on PC will also be available if you have Xbox Game Pass for PC. The integration is a bit confusing. Luckily, Xbox Game Pass Community Lead Megan Spurr has a short video, where she walks you through the process of accessing EA games on Xbox Game Pass for PC.
EA Games Coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC
Now’s where you steel your expectations. Folks with Xbox Game Pass for PC will indeed gain access to some of EA’s biggest sports games–of the past. FIFA 20 and FIFA 19 will be available for play for free. However, the newest version of this game, FIFA 21, is locked behind EA Play Pro. Madden NFL 21, however, has been moved from EA Play Pro to regular EA Play. Xbox Game Pass for PC Users will have unlimited access to all of the last three versions of Madden NFL.
You’ll still be able to try these games for free, for up to 10 hours. One one hand, this sucks. On the other, that’s more than enough time to decide if either the FIFA or Madden franchises are for you. If you get hooked, the 10% discount on EA purchases is also coming to Xbox Game Pass. With the incremental way these game series have been improving over the past few years, stepping back a year and downloading the 2019 version of either game will probably satisfy the itch as well.
A genre that’s bringing some real heat to Xbox Game Pass for PC tomorrow? Racing Games. Unfortunately, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered and Need for Speed Heat are currently locked behind EA Play Pro. However, Need for Speed and Need for Speed Rivals will both be available, along with Need for Speed Most Wanted. Joining them is Burnout Paradise Remastered, a beautiful remaster of one of the best racing games of all time.
EA Play games join the Xbox Game Pass for PC tomorrow, March 18.
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