EA Access comes to PlayStation 4 nearly 5 years after debuting on Xbox One

Electronic Arts said today it’s adding PlayStation 4 support for its EA Access subscription program. It’ll cost $5 a month (or $30 a year) and will start in July. This comes almost five years after EA Access hit Xbox One in August 2014. It’s proven popular on Xbox Live and PC (as Origin Access), and with the entries of Apple and Google into the game market (with Apple Arcade and Stadia), subscription programs look ready to grow.

Many companies are in search of a “Netflix of gaming” service, though Microsoft already has had huge success with Xbox Game Pass, its Netflix-like game subscription service. Microsoft found that Game Pass members play more games than they did before their subscription — and more outside their Game Pass library as well. In 2018, Sea of Thieves surged to 2 million players in its first few weeks and State of Decay 2 had 1 million after a single week — and Game Pass played a significant role in these launches.