Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Legacy Archives

Need for Speed Rivals races into the EA Access Vault

Add as a preferred source on Google

Electronic Arts’ still-young Xbox One subscription program EA Access will soon add another game to its “Vault” of free-for-subscribers games: Ghost Games’ Need for Speed Rivals. Like fellow Vault titles Battlefield 4Peggle 2Madden NFL 25, and FIFA 14Rivals was a launch window release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There’s no date set for the release, but EA promises that Rivals will enter the Vault “in the coming weeks.”

The new addition is meant to drum up interest in EA Access as the service launches in an additional 19 locations, including Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile, Colombia, Portugal, Turkey, South Africa, UAE, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Greece. You’ll still need an Xbox One to subscribe, and it’s not clear yet what the price will be in these new territories.

Recommended Videos

Related: EA Access: What is it and what does it mean for you?

There’s also some clarity on which upcoming releases EA Access members will be able to sample prior to release. For September 2014, both NHL 15 and FIFA 15 will be available to play as early as five days before they come out — September 9 for the former and September 23 for the latter — but only for six hours. Any progress made in those games carries over into an eventual purchase, so you’re not wasting time playing the full six hours if you plan to pick up the full release.

For more details on all of this, check out EA’s announcement post and subsequent FAQ.

Adam Rosenberg
Former Gaming/Movies Editor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
Roblox’s AI Build tool wants to make game development as easy as texting
Just describe your idea, and Roblox's AI will help turn it into a playable game.
Roblox

Roblox is turning 20 soon, and it's marking the occasion with a new way to make games without writing a single line of code. The platform's whole pitch has always been that anyone can be a creator, not just professional studios. Now, with millions of daily users, Roblox is finally bringing that power straight to your tablets and phones.

What exactly is Build?

Read more
This gaming mouse has a Noctua fan inside, and it finally has a launch date
Pulsar’s Noctua-cooled gaming mouse finally launches on July 21
Pulsar Feinmann F01 Noctua Edition mouse in hand

More than a year after its Computex 2025 debut, the Pulsar Feinmann F01 Noctua Edition gaming mouse is finally ready to launch. Sales begin through Pulsar’s online store on July 21 at 4 p.m. KST, although pricing has not yet been announced.

We also saw the mouse at Computex 2026, where it appeared much closer to a finished retail product. Its defining feature remains the tiny Noctua fan built into the shell, designed to push air toward your palm during long gaming sessions.

Read more
Gaming against AI could make you more confident with real teammates
Turns out getting beaten by bots wasn't the worst thing after all
Representative image of mobile gaming

Artificial intelligence is often blamed for making people less social. Whether it's AI replacing conversations, reducing teamwork, or making gaming feel less human, the narrative has largely remained the same. But a new study suggests the opposite could also be true. In fact, AI might be quietly encouraging people to spend more time with their friends.

Researchers studying PUBG: Battlegrounds have found that introducing AI-controlled opponents into multiplayer matches didn't isolate players. Instead, it made them more confident, kept them playing longer, and even encouraged them to squad up with friends more often. The findings, which will appear in the journal Information Systems Research, offer an interesting perspective on how AI can improve user experiences rather than simply automating them.

Read more