EA's answer to Steam is Origin, but EA goes a step further than Steam by offering one, and soon to be two, subscription options alongside digital games. The second of those subscriptions, Origin Access Premier, was announced in June at E3, and yesterday it was confirmed that it launches next week.
The existing Origin Access subscription costs $4.99 a month or $29 a year. In return for your money, you gain access to 75 EA games with the service slowly opening up to also offer non-EA titles. It's a good offer, but the games don't include new titles. Origin Access Premier will, but it costs quite a bit more.
As Variety reports, Origin Access Premier costs $14.99 a month or $99 a year. For that, you receive a 10 percent discount
EA is offering early access to new games for members, meaning Madden 19, FIFA 19, Battlefield V, and Anthem will all be playable on Premier five days before launch. Over 100 older games from EA and other publishers will also be available to play as long as you keep your subscription active. That access is "full [and] unlimited," suggesting all DLC is included, too.
Although the Origin website hasn't been updated yet confirming the next week's launch, you can't get much better of a source than EA CFO Blake Jorgensen. He stated it is during an earnings call on Thursday, so the only detail to confirm is which day specifically. Wednesday, Aug. 1 perhaps?
EA's approach to Origin looks to mirror what Microsoft is doing for its consoles with Xbox Game Pass. For PC games, Steam is by far and away the biggest player so EA needed to offer something different rather than trying to just compete directly. Subscriptions certainly are something different, and you have to wonder if Valve will decide it needs to compete and introduce its own somehow.