• EA and Valve have struck a new partnership to bring EA’s best (and worst) games back to Steam.
• Consequently, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be available on Steam at launch, with titles like The Sims 4 and FIFA 20 migrating in the future.
• Unfortunately, EA is involved, so there’s a ridiculously large catch.

After rumors started circulating last week, courtesy of some telling file package changes, Electronic Arts (EA) has formally announced a partnership with Valve that will bring Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Sims 4, FIFA 20, and other EA titles to Steam.

EA Access Subscription Leads The Charge

The publisher isn’t merely bringing its catalog back to the digital storefront, but a new subscription service, EA Access, will feature on Steam from Spring 2020 alongside individual titles.

In a press release penned for the occasion , the company says,

“EA Access is the first and only gaming subscription service available on Steam.”

The service is entirely separate and distinct from the publisher’s existing subscriptions, notably the Basic and Premier Origin Access tiers . We don’t yet know whether any of the features will carry over, nor do we have an idea of pricing.

EA promises access to what it calls The Vault – essentially, curated access to EA’s back-catalog. Alongside is “a medley of awards” including discounts on non-Vault games and in-game rewards for EA’s biggest releases.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Sims 4, & Other Major Titles

To kick things off, EA is making Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order available on Steam in line with a worldwide release on Nov. 15. Pre-orders are currently available .

From there, EA plans a staggered release of titles on the platform.

“In the coming months, players on Steam will also be able to play other major titles like The Sims 4 and Unravel Two. Multiplayer games—like Apex Legends, FIFA 20, and Battlefield V—will become available next year.”

The staggered release is presumably to stress-test the behind-the-scenes integration of the Origin game launcher into Steam.

On that topic, EA stopped short of describing how this would work. The publisher points out that players on both Steam and Origin can play together in multiplayer games. Such functionality suggests the usage of the same launcher. As such, we imagine downloading and installing the controversial Origin client is a prerequisite for games bought via Steam.

The Steam listing for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order appears to back this up alongside noting the need for an EA Account.

There you have it. You’ll soon be able to play the very best and very worst of EA’s titles, stifling micro-transactions and all, on Steam.