14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts is one of the biggest gaming companies out there, as it owns a variety of studios and labels, each creating titles for a specific market. The company has quite a lot of very popular games in its portfolio, like the Need For Speed franchise, the Burnout one or the massively successful Command & Conquer series.
Now, because its online EA store didn't really get off to a successful start, it seems that EA has established a partnership with the leading online content distribution network, Steam. That's right, the rumors that we reported were true; EA will be bringing almost all of its recent titles to Valve's store in the near future.
For now, only these titles will be available for download: Mass Effect, Need For Speed Undercover, Spore (and the Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack), FIFA Manager 09 and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Other games, like Crysis or Crysis: Warhead, were already available for download, as a partnership between Valve and the creators of the game, Crytek was signed a long time ago. Also, in the “coming soon” section, titles like Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 will be added in the following weeks.
All in all, a very interesting deal, which is sure to make quite a lot of EA fans buy these titles. No word yet on whether the DRM (Digital Rights Management) programs, especially the infamous SecuROM, will be implemented in these games. Due to the unique design of Steam, Valve said that such programs were unnecessary and that users could enjoy a great experience without the problems that appeared with normal, retail games.
Until we hear more about this new partnership, all that's left for every EA fan out there is to open up Steam and start downloading their favorite titles.