EA Play Finally Available on Xbox Game Pass for PC; Auto HDR Preview Released for Windows Insiders

EA Play subscription is now finally available to PC users who have Xbox Game Pass memberships, Microsoft has announced. The service will allow Xbox Game Pass members to have access to a library of more than 60 games including Need for Speed Heat, Battlefield V, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and others at no extra cost. EA Play will be available to Xbox Game Pass PC and Ultimate members using Windows 10. Additionally, Microsoft has also shared it is bringing Auto HDR feature to Windows. The company introduced this feature with the Xbox Series X/ Series S in November last year.

The Xbox Game Pass Team shared through a post on its website that EA Play will be available to Xbox Game Pass PC and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members starting Thursday at 2pm PT (2:30am IST, Friday). EA Play brings more than 60 PC games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Titanfall 2, Need for Speed Hear, FIFA 20, Madden NFL, Battlefield franchise, and more. Xbox Game Pass members will also be able to play Star Wars: Squadrons on PC and console from day one.

Additional benefits of EA Play include monthly rewards. This month, they can get Gold Team Fantasy MUT packs, N7 Weapon Charm for Apex Legends, and EA Play Celebration Pack for Madden 21. They will also have access to special member-only content, exclusive in-game challenged and rewards, as well as discounts on digital purchases from the EA Desktop app. Xbox Game Pass for PC costs Rs. 489 per month while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs Rs. 699 per month.

PC users will need to download the EA Desktop app which is currently in beta and sign in with an EA account. After logging in, there will be a prompt to link you Xbox account and EA account. Once the process is completed, you will be able to download EA Play games to Windows.

Electronic Arts (EA) decided to rebrand EA Access and Origin Access as EA Play back in August of last year. Then in September, it was announced that EA Play will be joining Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free starting “holiday 2020.” With the launch of Xbox Series X/ Series S consoles, EA Play was added to Xbox Game Pass for consoles with the PC version said to be joining on December 15. However, that did not happen as planned and Microsoft later announced EA Play on Xbox Game Pass for PC will come in 2021. Now, finally, it's coming to PC today. Xbox Game Pass was made available for PC in June 2019.

Furthermore, through a post on the developer blog, Microsoft Programme Manager Hannah Fisher shared the company has released a preview of Auto HDR feature for Windows Insider Program members. This feature was introduced with the Xbox Series X/ Series S consoles in November 2020 and allows the consoles to convert old standard-dynamic-range (SDR) titles to high-dynamic-range (HDR) on the fly.

Auto HDR does not require developers to add HDR to their games
Photo Credit: Microsoft

The post reads, “When enabled on your HDR capable gaming PC, you will automatically get awesome HDR visuals on an additional 1000+ DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games!” Of course, you will need a compatible HDR monitor to use this feature.

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