Are you getting tired of entering codes before you play a game? Be sure to pick up Syndicate. No codes needed!
That's right, EA has confirmed that upcoming series revamp, Syndicate from Starbreeze Studios will not come with an online pass. The high-tech corporate-warfare first-person shooter will feature single-player and online co-op multiplayer, but not an online pass.
Says EA Partners Executive producer Jeff Gamon:
We want as little resistance or barriers to entry as possible. The co-op is equal billing in this. We wanted everyone who owns a copy of the game to have access to the entire product. Under normal circumstances it would have had an online pass, but because it didn't have competitive multiplayer and we wanted as many people as possible to be playing co-op, we got away with it.
Maybe another reason for not having the Online Pass is we were confident in the scope of the online game. There are nine maps. It's hard to say, but just to play through the maps once on normal is a good six, seven hours. To progress your character and upgrade a few weapons is a heap of content. That and the single-player campaign means hopefully we won't see much in the way of early second hand sales and rentals.
Here's why this is really confusing:
Syndicate is a license owned by EA, being developed by Starbreeze, not owned by EA…. 38 Studios isn't owned by EA either… neither is the license for Kingdoms of Amalur, a single-player only game. Why didn't 38 Studios have more of a say in this matter?
[Source]