Massive EA Play price hike in South Africa

Electronic Arts has implemented a big price hike on its EA Play game subscription service in South Africa, including more than doubling the fee of its entry-level annual plan.

The adjustments were confirmed in emails sent to EA Play subscribers in multiple countries, but South Africa seems to be getting among the worst hikes.

The monthly price of a regular EA Play membership on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox is increasing from R48.50 to R89.95, an 85% hike.

The annual subscription price has been raised from R299 to R649.95, a whopping 117% increase.

EA Play Pro’s monthly price is also jumping from R200 to R304.99, while the annual plan is getting hiked by over R500, going from its previous price of R1,199 to R1,699.95

Electronic Arts said the price changes allow it to keep giving members all the benefits and content they love.

“The service we offer has grown in value since it launched almost 10 years ago, and we plan to add even more value for members in the future,” the company said.

The new pricing already applies for new subscribers, while existing members will start paying the new fees on their next billing data on or after 10 May 2024.

The table below shows the old and new prices of EA Play and EA Play Pro in South Africa.

EA Play provides access to dozens of the publisher’s games, including popular titles from the Battlefield, Fifa, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, Star Wars Jedi, and Sims franchises, and 10% discounts in its store.

EA Play Pro adds access to some of the publisher’s new releases on launch day.

Strangely, the price change means a standalone EA Play subscription on PC is now more expensive than a Microsoft PC Game Pass subscription that includes access to EA Play, as well as hundreds of other games from Microsoft game studios and third-party publishers.

The Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which adds access to the Game Pass library with EA Play on Xbox consoles, is now also only about R40 more expensive than a standalone EA Play subscription, where it previously cost R80.50 more.

The biggest losers in the adjustments seem to be PlayStation users, who don’t get EA Play on their PS Plus subscriptions.

Microsoft cracks whip on Game Pass stacking loophole

Coinciding with EA’s price hikes, Microsoft has reportedly also started blocking users in from stacking cheaper Game Pass subscriptions in certain countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, and Turkey.

Where they were previously able to get up to 36 months of Game Pass in advance, they will now only be able to get 13 months.

Consequently, they will also not be able to get EA Play on the cheap.

It is not uncommon for users in countries with more expensive Game Pass subscriptions to change their region settings to get more affordable plans in countries like South Africa and India.

South Africa’s old price of R48.50 per month for EA Play was also very cheap compared to developed countries.

For example, in the US, the price was previously $4.99 (R93.35), while users in the UK paid £3.99 (R93.76).

The new price of R89.95 in South Africa is now much closer to the revised $5.99 (R112.06) and £5.99 (R140.77) subscriptions in those countries.