Recently, an EA Access page appeared on Steam, promising that the subscription-based service would "soon" be available on the storefront. But when the service launches, it won't be called EA Access: Electronic Arts announced today that on August 18, EA Access and Origin Access (the PC subscription service offered on the Origin storefront) will merge and be called EA Play. The new name will be EA Play.

The fundamentals of the services will remain the same. Subscribers will have access to the same library of EA games and pre-release demos that are currently available through EA and Origin Access. For more dedicated fans, Origin Access Premier, which offers unlimited access to a wider range of EA games, including new releases, will also remain, but will be called EA Play Pro.

In the long run, however, Electronic Arts plans to further expand its offerings under the new brand with features like in-game challenges and monthly reward drops. Specifics will vary from game to game, but will include "Early Access Challenges, rewards like Ultimate Team Packs, exclusive vanity items and cosmetics, and more."

EA also clarified that while the name is unified, the service itself is not: separate subscriptions must be purchased for each platform for which you want to use EA Play. And if you are concerned that these EA Play subscription services will be confused with the annual EA Play presentations held during E3, don't worry. The change and all the details that go along with it (at this point, it's just a new name) can be found on ea.com.