Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) announced that players can sign up for Origin Access Premier, a new subscription tier for PC that offers full access to EA’s latest releases for the first time ever. Members will play the full game days before launch featuring valuable extra content including in-game currency, plus all the benefits of the Basic membership that features an ever-evolving library of games 100+ games in The Vault.

“Origin Access Premier puts a wealth of content into the hands of the players, including numerous titles from EA and other publishers in a single membership,” said Michael Blank, Senior Vice President, Player Network. “As our first-ever subscription service with full access to newly-released EA games, we’re offering players more freedom to play the games they want, anytime they want.”

Players can join Origin Access Premier now to start playing previously released EA titles on PC, including:

• The Sims 4 including Digital Deluxe content with Dine Out and Kids Room Stuff
• Star Wars: Battlefront II**
• EA SPORTS FIFA 18
• A Way Out
• Unravel Two
• Fe

The following upcoming EA titles on PC will also be available for members to play any time, before anyone else:

• EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Ultimate Edition (September 20, 2018)
• Battlefield V Deluxe Edition (October 11, 2018)
• Anthem Legion of Dawn Edition (February 15, 2019)

For £14.99/month or £89.99/year , players can enjoy full access to games as an Origin Access Premier member. To learn more, visit https://www.origin.com/usa/en-us/store/origin-access .

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After a tumultous week for EA, Dice and their game Star Wars Battlefront 2, drastic changes are happening. EA have now removed all microtransactions from Battlefront 2 temporarily. Players will find that they can no longer purchase Crystals for money.

EA released a statement on the game’s microtransactions saying that they are aware of the concerns about giving players unfair advantages. That is not their intention and are “sorry” they didn’t get it right. This does not mean that microtransactions are going away for good however. It will return in some way or form.

These changes are due to the massive outrage from players and the community regarding the predatory nature of these microtransactions. It reached such a boiling point that both Belgium and the Netherlands are investigating the game.

In defense of their practice, this is what EA have to say. “Regarding microtransactions, we want players to enjoy their progression through the game and want gameplay to be fair along the way. Microtransactions are there for player choice, but won’t be a requirement to play or succeed at the game. And like everything else, we’ll continue tweaking and tuning until we achieve these goals.”

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The Blueprint Exists

Recalling my recent experiences in Inquisition, it’s uncanny how MMO like some parts of the game is. For instance, very early on in the region of The Hinterlands, I noticed how much quests there really is. Besides following the main story through, you’ll get optional quests to save locals and hunt wildlife. Even better, these take the form of familiar fetch and kill quests that we’re accustomed to in our MMOs. In addition to the landscape questing and progression, Inquisition’s crafting system also makes you harvest materials out in the world. Herbs must be gathered from fertile ground in the wilderness, while ore must be harvested in rocky terrain. It’s not unusual for RPG’s to do this, it’s part and parcel of the fantasy experience. But all of it makes me wonder why doesn’t Bioware give a Dragon Age MMORPG a shot.

It Meets The Criteria

To make it in the MMO industry of today, games need to check off a list of things. The first is having a boatload of immersive, engaging and satisfying content in your MMO. The Dragon Age franchise already delivers this – it’s got one of the best fantasy stories of any video game. Its cast of characters are superbly written, the voice acting is top notch and the cinematic are worth watching.

Even the game’s engine – Frostbite – seems well suited to today’s modern graphic demands, although they might have to change the engine for an MMORPG. For example, look at what Zenimax uses for the Elder Scrolls Online as opposed to using the single player Elder Scrolls engine. Moreover, Bioware knows what to do to make money, should it ever be made a free to play MMO (yeah right). Inquisition has multiplayer, but you can spend money on packs. So yes, the DLC or lootbox formula will probably make an appearance. This is EA and Bioware we’re talking about after all.

Will Bioware Do It?

As much as I’d love to see a massive open world Dragon Age MMORPG full of lore, stories and interesting characters, I’m resigned to the fact that it will probably never happen. The first reason involves looking at Bioware’s other MMORPG, Star Wars the Old Republic. That game took $200 million to make over the span of 5 years or more, and still ended up free to play. The trend these days for MMO developers involves crowdfunding and early access – a route EA and Bioware will probably never go. Not many big studios and companies will take that risk in terms of money and time to compete in an already saturated MMO space.

And secondly, things aren’t all rosy at Bioware or Dragon Age for that matter. Mike Laidlaw, the brainchild behind the franchise has left. The future is still uncertain and we might not see a fourth single player Dragon Age. Thus, I think we can put this flirting to bed.

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EA is making some changes to loot progression in Star Wars Battlefront 2. The developers have plenty of feedback to act on, thanks to the game’s recent open beta and the large number of players taking part.

“We’ve made changes to crates and progression based on player’s feedback. The beta gave us a welcome chance to test all of our systems in action and tune things up for better balance.”

Below is a list of changes to how progression works come launch:

• Epic Star Cards, the highest tier of Star Cards available at launch, have been removed from Crates
• You’ll need to reach a certain rank to craft upgraded Star Cards
• Weapons are locked behind specific milestones
• Class-specific gear and items can be unlocked by playing as them

Moreover, EA says that they’ll continue to keep a close eye at player feedback to help fine tune and improve the system. One of the priorities as stated by the developers is their commitment to keeping the game’s community together. This includes releasing all post launch content for free and making sure that the game is fun for everyone.

For more information, check out the official blog post here.

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