Electronic Arts (EA) has increased the prices for EA Play – in some cases drastically. At the same time, the developer is shortening the test period for its own video games
The increase will take effect for existing customers from May, but new customers will have to dig deeper into their pockets: EA Play is becoming significantly more expensive. The subscription service for the video game giant’s in-house titles has been given a new price structure. In future, the standard category will cost 6 euros per month – previously it was 4 euros. What may not seem like much at first glance due to the modest amounts involved is actually an increase of 50 percent.
If you want to take out an annual subscription, you will now have to pay 40 instead of 25 euros – an increase of 60 percent. However, players will still save considerably less than paying for each month individually. In percentage terms, however, the saving is lower than before the price change.
The second variant, EA Play Pro, is also increasing slightly: the monthly price is rising from EUR 15 to EUR 17 and the annual price from EUR 100 to EUR 120. The percentages of the increase generally vary depending on the respective currency. In the UK, the annual costs for the standard subscription will rise by almost 80 percent from 20 to around 36 pounds.
The adjustment has no effect on players who purchase their EA Play basic content via the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or the PC Game Pass. The prices of both models will remain stable (for the time being)
Prices increased, demo hours halved
It is not yet known whether gamers will also receive additional content for their new additional costs. Another setback from the player’s point of view is certain, however: the trial versions of EA titles will only be available for five hours instead of ten
In view of the general development of video game subscriptions, the price increase for EA Play is hardly surprising. The Xbox Game Pass had already increased in the summer of 2023, Sony followed suit in the fall for PlayStation Plus. However, the increase is remarkable in light of the fact that EA announced record net bookings for so-called “live services” in its last quarterly report – which includes EA Play.
The gaming group’s share of revenue from these same live services, which also include Ultimate Team, is now around 73 percent. Following the EA Play adjustment in the upcoming quarterly reports, this figure is unlikely to decrease, nor are the absolute records likely to fall. The losers of the latest development are the players, who will have to pay even more
