EA Signs Deal with Valve to Bring Games to Steam

A popular internet fan theory about Electronic Arts Inc. has been proven true today. The games publisher recently hinted at major news with a cryptic tweet simply showing an EA branded mug full of a steaming hot beverage.

Gamer sleuths predicted this meant a return of EA games to Valve’s Steam service — the world’s largest PC gaming platform — and it turns out their guess was correct.

EA’s return will begin with the launch of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on Nov. 15. The deal will also see The Sims 4 hit Steam, where it has been notably absent and only previously available through the Origin launcher.

The company’s subscription service EA Access will also hit the PC gaming platform next spring, allowing gamers to play a collection of EA games directly through Steam for a monthly price.

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson commented on the announcement today:

This is the start of an exciting partnership with Valve that will see us innovating for PC players around the world. 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.

With the continued demise of physical media, subscription services are becoming more prevalent across consoles, mobile devices, and Windows machines.

PC giant Microsoft for instance currently runs the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – which offers access to more than a hundred games for both Xbox One and PC via the Windows Store.

Rival service Utomik provides monthly access to more than a thousand titles, while Apple Arcade is also coming later this year to offer 100+ mobile titles on the iOS platform for $4.99 a month.

In other EA news, the company hit a milestone of 10 million players on FIFA 20 earlier this month not long after the yearly franchise’s latest launch. Aside from wrestling entry WWE2K20, the FIFA 20 release marked one of the final yearly sports games to arrive in 2019.

EA also just announced details on the FIFA 20 Global Series, with the eClub World Cup taking place in February, the eNations Cup arriving in May, followed by the eWorld Cup finals in July.

Ty Arthur

Ty Arthur has spent the last decade of his journalism career covering everything from cutting-edge tech to local news through outlets such as the Houston Chronicle. He has focused on the counterculture aspects of society, from marijuana legalization to underground music through Metalunderground.com and rapidly changing trends in the entertainment industry. He lives in the cold, dark north with his wife and son. Address: 682 Indian Road, Toronto, Ontario, M6P 2C9. Phone: 416-721-8257.