EA Clarifies Online Comments, Insists Most Games Will be Playable Offline

At gamescom last week EA COO Peter Moore commented that the publisher no longer ships games that are offline but in a blog post on EA's website he's clarified his statement and insists that games will continue to have offline modes.

"Today, most games are “online” in some way, shape or form.  Many games connect in online multiplayer modes; others include online services which allow for periodic content updates, sharing stats or achievements or connecting with friends; and others are games downloaded through digital delivery methods like Origin or the App Store.  The reality is, the Internet and social connectivity touches every one of our titles today – and has for several years. 

"What that does NOT mean is that every game we ship will require an online connection.  Many, if not most, of our games include single-player, offline modes that you can play entirely without an Internet connection, if you so choose. We know that’s something many of our players want, and we will continue to deliver it."

Moore then discussed free-to-play titles and added that not every EA franchise will receive the F2P treatement. 

"I also see confusion about our plans for free-to-play games.  Many of our most popular franchises for PCs and mobile – including Battlefield, Need for Speed, FIFA, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Plants vs. Zombies and now Madden NFL, to name a few – already offer free-to-play experiences.  Command & Conquer is another exciting new free-to-play game coming online later this year.  

"However, NOT ALL of EA’s games will offer a free-to-play mode.  We will continue to explore new free-to-play experiences for our franchises when we believe there is gamer interest and a cool new game we can build.  But of course we will continue to deliver award-winning core gaming experiences on ALL of these franchises."

EA notoriously launched SimCity earlier this year with a required internet connection leading to server overloads causing many players to be unable to play. The SimCity debacle resulted in The Sims 4, due to be released next year, to be launched as an offline playable title.