EA had announced plans of starting its own cloud streaming service called Project Atlas. Users with an EA Origin or Access account will be able to sign up and enrol themselves in the technical trial for the under-development service. It is now live and limited users will be getting access to the test run.
The Electronic Arts Inc., logo is displayed on a screen during a PlayStation 4 Pro launch event in New York City, U.S., September 7, 2016. Image: Reuters.
Announced last month in EA’s news section, a technical trial of Project Atlas was announced in a new Medium post recently by the company’s chief technology officer Ken Moss. A limited number of players will be chosen for the testing who will have access to play games such as FIFA 19, Titanfall 2, Need for Speed Rivals, and Unravel. The selection of these games will ensure the service is tested efficiently for different genres and graphics. Whether it’s a graphically-intensive game or a multiplayer FPS game, many factors will be tested out.
With the “technical trial”, EA wants to test real-world challenges such as “unstable bandwidth” and “network strength”. Until now, the only hurdle that has kept cloud gaming away from becoming acceptable for serious gaming (sometimes even casual games) is high latency. EA believes that cloud infrastructure is becoming more common globally and by leveraging AWS servers, the company will be able to deploy the service closer to players.
The test will support full-HD games on a number of devices including smart TVs, OTT streaming devices, PC and Mac laptops, tablets and smartphones. It will include a feature to continue gaming sessions from one device to another. This means progression in the game can be saved on one device and it will be reflected on all the other devices where players can pick up on any one of them. Cross-play will be tested as well so that more players can play with or against each other.
How to join EA cloud gaming technical trial?
You will require an EA account so, if you don’t have one, you have to create a new one. Once you’re logged in, follow this link to join the EA Community Playtesting where tests of upcoming EA titles are available. After signing up for Playtesting, you have to patiently wait until you’re selected for the trial. The company hasn’t really specified how many players will be receiving access. If you’re selected, it will appear under the ‘Playtests available’ section. However, the chances are quite low.
There’s no word when Project Atlas will conduct its first closed or open beta for bigger set of players. While we wait, Google’s Stadia (releasing some time in November) and Microsoft’s xCloud are nearing their release. None of them have had a public testing run yet, so we are eager to check out these services and understand whether seamless cloud gaming is indeed a reality now.