EA CEO John Riccitiello has been publically vocal about making Origin, the company's new digital distribution platform, into something more than a storefront for first party titles. To that end, EA has today announced that they'll begin selling third party content next month, with big names like Warner Bros. Interactive's Batman: Arkham City and THQ's Saints Row: The Third headlining the new offerings.
That's a move that puts Origin in direct competition with industry leader Steam, which currently offers more than 1300 games to an install base of more than 35 million users. By outside estimates, that gives Valve's service a a whopping 70% share of the digital distribution market.
While Origin has seen promising growth — nearly four million users were reportedly active on the service last month, no doubt bolstered by the popular Battlefield 3 beta — EA has a significant mountain to climb if they hope to become a major player, especially in light of the overwhelmingly negative reception the platform has received among hardcore PC gamers.
