AfterDawn: Tech news

EA: Online Pass is 'dead', never coming back

Written by James Delahunty @ 22 Jun 2013 4:21 User comments (3)

EA: Online Pass is 'dead', never coming back Electronic Arts has ruled out a return of its Online Pass program on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One games consoles.
Both next generation consoles will now support the playing of used games, which had prompted questions about how EA's recent decision to abandon Online Pass would be affected.

Speaking to Polygon, an Electronic Arts representative ruled out a return of the Online Pass system in the next generation.

"There is no change to our decision to discontinue Online Pass," the rep said. "It is dead."

EA said the decision to kill off Online Pass on both future games, and retrospectively on older titles, was down to customer feedback. Systems like Online Pass - which were also adopted later by other publishers - are widely seen as a way for publishers to get revenue out of the resale of video games.

Previous Next  

3 user comments

123.6.2013 19:52

I'm sure they are hard at working finding another way to charge gamers more for playing their games.

224.6.2013 01:14

My guess is that they've found that microtransactions and DLC more than pay for the loss of the negligible funds they received from the Online Pass system, without the overwhelmingly negative PR.

324.6.2013 06:00

Originally posted by Bozobub:
My guess is that they've found that microtransactions and DLC more than pay for the loss of the negligible funds they received from the Online Pass system, without the overwhelmingly negative PR.
I concur.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

WhatsApp is testing a paid subscription service - these features are coming WhatsApp is testing a paid subscription service - these features are coming (20 Apr 2026 4:45)
WhatsApp is currently testing the WhatsApp Plus subscription service with a limited group of users, and its price is currently listed as 2.49 euros per month.
Disney to introduce a new movie theater certificate - competes with IMAX? Disney to introduce a new movie theater certificate - competes with IMAX? (20 Apr 2026 1:09)
IMAX has long been a kind of gold standard for movie theaters, guaranteeing a massive screen and certai other technical elements. Now Disney is establishing a competitor for IMAX, which goes by the name Infinity Vision.
The era of cheap AI is about to end - consumers and companies may experience a harsh reality very soon The era of cheap AI is about to end - consumers and companies may experience a harsh reality very soon (19 Apr 2026 12:58)
AI companies have allowed both consumers and businesses to use their developed AI models at a significantly lower cost than their actual expenses. A clear change is now coming to this, which could significantly alter the market.
Defunct companies started selling their former employees' email and Slack messages to AI companies Defunct companies started selling their former employees' email and Slack messages to AI companies (18 Apr 2026 12:27)
Technology companies that have gone bankrupt or have simply been shut down have found a new way to make a little more money at their final gasp. The companies are selling their employees' Slack, Teams, and email messages as training material for AI compan
Google starts penalizing sites that hijack the browser back button Google starts penalizing sites that "hijack" the browser back button (18 Apr 2026 2:35)
Google has announced that starting from June 2026 it will begin penalizing websites that hijack the browser back button.
1 user comment

News archive