What just happened? Numerous gaming and streaming subscription services have enacted price hikes over the past year, as just about everything else is also becoming more expensive. It was only a matter of time before Electronic Arts joined other major game publishers, raising its prices by around 30 percent.
EA Play subscribers should soon begin receiving emails informing them of a moderate monthly and annual price increase. The hike comes into effect on May 10, but the new prices have already appeared on the company's website.
The monthly price for the basic subscription will rise from $4.99 to $5.99, while annual subscriptions jump from $29.99 to $39.99. Meanwhile, EA Play Pro receives a monthly hike from $14.99 to $16.99, and an annual increase from $99.99 to $119.99.
Basic tier subscribers can download a large selection of somewhat older titles from EA's catalog on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and the company's PC game launcher. They also receive automatic access to certain in-game items and 10-hour trials of EA's latest releases. Upgrading to Pro widens the choice to include more games, premium editions, and early access to new games.
Among the most notable titles are EA Sports games and various Star Wars games dating back decades. Xbox and PC users should note that Microsoft's Game Pass subscription bundles EA Play with access to all Microsoft-published titles and many more games. Although the basic Game Pass tiers cost more than EA Play, Game Pass Ultimate carries the same monthly price as EA Play Pro.
According to Gamesindustry.biz, inflation is behind the price hike. Inflation has recently made various goods and services more expensive, and entertainment subscriptions are no exception.
Apple increased the prices of its video streaming, music, gaming, and other subscription services late last year. Some of the Cupertino giant's prices rose by over 40 percent.
Sony also gave its subscribers a price hike last year, though only for annual plans. Around the same time, Game Pass became more expensive in numerous countries, but Microsoft hasn't handed hikes to US subscribers or PC users globally, not yet anyway.
Netflix has raised its prices multiple times over the years, most recently last fall, and is expected to hike them again sometime this year. YouTube, Amazon, and Disney have also followed the trend over the past year.
