Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
EA has confirmed that its upcoming revival of Syndicate will not use the contentious online pass system.
“We want as little resistance or barriers to entry as possible,” said EA Partners executive producer Jeff Gamon to Eurogamer. “The co-op is equal billing in this. We wanted everyone who owns a copy of the game to have access to the entire product.”
EA’s internal policy to include an online pass in all of its games does not apply to its EA Partners label – last year’s Crysis 2 and Portal 2 both shipped without one – but Syndicate is an IP owned and published by EA, though developer Starbreeze developed the game through the EA Partners scheme.
“Under normal circumstances it would have had an online pass, but because it didn’t have competitive multiplayer and because we wanted as many people as possible to be playing co-op, we got away with it,” said Gamon.
“Maybe another reason for not having the Online Pass is we were confident in the scope of the online game.”
“There are nine maps. It’s hard to say, but just to play through the maps once on normal is a good six, seven hours. To progress your character and upgrade a few weapons is a heap of content. That and the single-player campaign means hopefully we won’t see much in the way of early second hand sales and rentals.”
Syndicate will be released, without an online pass, for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on February 24.
