EA to discontinue Online Pass program thanks to consumer feedback

It's safe to say that Online Passes are unanimously despised. Designed to stymy the value of secondhand games, the uptake of the initiative by major publishers has been met with scorn by consumers. So much so that EA will discontinue the program for all forthcoming titles, according to EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg.

"Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn't respond to the format," Reseburg continued. "We've listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward."

This means that major EA titles going forward - including Battlefield 4 - will do exactly what they say on the tin, whether you bought secondhand or not. Meanwhile, Ubisoft and Activision - among others - have not made public any plans to remove the functionality.

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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.