EA lifts Online Pass restriction for multiple games on Xbox Marketplace

EA has taken the next step in doing away with its Online Pass program. Several games on the Xbox LIVE marketplace are now free to play online -- regardless if the version you own is pre-owned or not.

The Online Pass was originally created as a unique, one-time-use code that would allow EA players to access a game's online features. If the game was purchased use, there was a likely chance that the online pass code would have been used and the player would need to purchase a new one. This was a way for EA to encourage players to buy a game new, or at least get a little money back from a used game purchase. Needless to say, it wasn't very popular among consumers.

Seeing this, EA has decided to do away with the system. And while all future titles will no longer have an Online Pass, EA is "in the process of eliminating Online Pass requirements from existing EA games."

Read more about EA's decision at GameZone >