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EA Access gaming service adds PlayStation support after years on Xbox, PC

Electronic Arts' gaming service, which offers gamers more than 50 games to play, is coming to the PlayStation in July.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
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Ian Sherr
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EA Access launched in 2014, nearly a year after Andrew Wilson was named the company's new CEO.

 Josh Miller/CNET

Electronic Arts is hoping to level up with PlayStation gamers.

The gaming giant, known for games like the Madden NFL and FIFA sports titles, as well as the adventure epic Anthem, said Tuesday it plans to expand its $4.99 per month EA Access program to PlayStation users in July.

The move, which it telegraphed in February, has been long coming. The subscription service, which offers more than 50 games such as the latest entries for each of its NHL, NBA, NFL and FIFA sports titles, first launched in 2014 for the Xbox, and then in 2016 for the PC. It didn't launch for the PlayStation, however, in part because the company didn't believe it brought "the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect." 

"As we continue to invest in digital and subscription services, bringing our games to even more people across both consoles is an exciting opportunity," Matt Bilbey, EA's head of strategic growth, said in a statement. "Our goal is to give players more choice to try and play our games wherever and however they choose."

EA  isn't the only company offering gaming subscription services. Both Microsoft and Sony have their own programs as well. Microsoft's $9.99 per month Xbox Game Pass offers access to more than 100 games, including the world building title Minecraft and the epic action series Gears of War. Sony, meanwhile, offers PlayStation Plus, a $59.99 per year service (which works out to $5 per month) that gives access to a rotating list of games each month.

To make its service more enticing, EA's expanded its service last year with a more expensive "premiere" version, offering access to the company's latest games and a wider backlog of titles for $15 per month. It also offered gamers a chance to play its much-hyped Anthem adventure epic a week before its full release. The company declined to say how many people have subscribed to its service.