In a promotion gone awry, Electronic Arts accidentally gave thousands of users free access to games over the weekend.
In return for completing a survey, some users were given a code that allowed them to download a free game under $20 from Origin, EA’s digital distribution service. However, the publisher was not diligent with the code’s security and it was discovered it could be used to download multiple games.
The code quickly went viral on Reddit and was taken advantage of by many, with some downloading nearly every free game possible.
Among the games that were available were Dead Space, Dead Space 2, Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Sim City 4 and many more.
The company realized its mistake by Sunday morning and quickly closed the loophole, leaving some who legitimately filled out the survey empty-handed.
For users quick enough to take advantage of the mistake, EA said it will “honor all sales made with the coupon code over the weekend and hope fans enjoy their games.”
No matter your thoughts on the company, EA gave away what probably amounts to thousands of games for absolutely free this weekend.
On the bright side, it could be that this blunder turns into a good thing for the publisher. Thousands of users that may have never tried Origin now have accounts and are at least a little invested in the ecosystem.
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