Xbox Live Gold Members Get Something Special From EA Next Week

Electronic Arts is rewarding Xbox Live Gold subscribers with a bit of a treat next week... well, it's more like a big treat. Up to 15 games from the EA Access vault will be made available for free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers for one week only.

Game Informer picked up the news from over on Major Nelson, where it was announced that between January 19th and January 24th gamers who are currently subscribed to Xbox Live Gold will be able to play the following games from the EA Access vault for free.

• Battlefield Hardline

• EA Sports UFC

• Battlefield 4

• FIFA 15

• Madden 25

• Dragon Age: Inquisition

• NHL 15

• Titanfall

• Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare

• Need for Speed Rivals

• NBA LIVE 15

• Peggle 2

• FIFA 14

• Madden 14

I have to admit that those are a tempting batch of games. The regular $4.99 a month price tag will be waived for one week only for Xbox Live Gold subscribers to get a taste of some of EA's top name games. While Battlefield Hardline was a huge step back from Battlefield 4, it's still cool that both of them will be playable and gamers can decide for themselves if either or both are worth investing in thereafter. EA is likely hoping that gamers will get lured in and then subscribe to EA Access over the long haul.

Older eighth gen games like Titanfall are also available, which might help lure in gamers tired of Call of Duty and Battlefield. And then there's the troubled but moderately competent Need for Speed Rivals, which was probably best known for the 30fps hard-lock that gave modders a real headache when it first released. I doubt Need for Speed will be winning over anyone at this time, especially coming off the player-panned Need for Speed game that released last fall that came jam packed with always-on DRM.

EA Sports UFC is a good bet from EA, though. The game is about to get a sequel that's due to drop for the PS4 and the Xbox One in March... giving Xbox One XBL Gold subscribers an opportunity to play the game for free for an entire week is a nice way to help build hype for EA Sports UFC 2. That's not to mention that the original game was actually very well made, and despite being a bit thin on the content side, it was actually a really fun and tactically immersive fighting game. It required a lot of strategy, thinking, timing and cage control. Hopefully they can capture that same feeling with the sequel.

If you're a sports fanatic (and according to the strong sales of sports games and shooters on the Xbox platforms), you'll likely enjoy the free opportunity to get in on EA Access since they have FIFA 14, FIFA 15, Madden NFL 14, Madden NFL 25 and NBA Live 15 to test out for a week.

Once the trial ends, players will be presented with an option to continue using EA Access for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. All progress made during the EA Access free trial period will carry over into the games that you decide to keep if you choose to subscribe to the service. You can learn more by visiting the official EA Access Free Play Days website.