A forthcoming update for EA’s Origin will allow support for free-to-play games.
During EA’s Gamescom press conference in Germany today, the publisher announced that its digital distribution service, Origin, will be released on additional platforms. Currently only available on the PC, Origin is coming to Mac, Facebook, Android, and Smart TV in the near future.
Though some of these platforms seem like an odd fit, it makes more sense alongside the reveal that Origin will be getting new features as well. Support for free-to-play games, exclusive downloadable content, live videos, and a new dashboard will all be included in Origin’s makeover. Though Facebook, Android, and Mac already have sizable game libraries, this should bring even more gaming options to those platforms. It will be especially interesting to see how Origin is utilized on internet-enabled televisions, and whether this leads to a rise in Smart TV gaming.
No specific date for the Origin update or its appearance on new platforms was revealed at the press conference. Earlier today, EA announced that SimCity will be coming to Mac in 2013 via Origin, so the service should be available on that platform at the least by next February.
Source: Polygon
