Origin looted with infinite voucher

Written by David Hing

October 16, 2012 | 08:03

Tags: #digital-distribution #origin #vouchers

Companies: #ea

Hundreds of games were given out for free through EA’s digital distribution service Origin following a colossal foul-up regarding promotional vouchers.

Over the weekend, North America-based participants in an EA survey were given a $20 voucher to spend on the digital storefront as thanks for completing the survey. Unfortunately for EA, someone discovered the coupon was reusable and not limited to a single use.

The infinite $20 codes were then distributed across Reddit and several forums leading to gamers plundering Origin for free copies of games including entries in the Mass Effect, Battlefield, Command and Conquer and the Dragon Age series.

EA has decided to not try and deactivate any of the purchases made as a result of its voucher accident. ‘We’ll honour all sales made with the coupon code over the weekend and hope fans enjoy their games,’ said an Origin community manager.

It is unclear exactly how long this Origin loophole was open for and the exact figure for how many games were given away for free is likely to be very high. Some users were posting hauls of more than 40 titles each.

Origin first launched in June 2011 as a rival to Valve’s Steam. It has since developed a reputation for being unreliable and regularly draws ire from the gaming community. The service currently has approximately 9.3 million users and gained a large install base by being a requirement for some of EA’s more high profile releases including Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3.
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