Report: EA, Comcast close to signing streaming game deal

According to a report today from Reuters, Electronic Arts and Comcast are close to finalizing a deal that would bring EA-published games to Comcast's X1 TV operating system through cloud-powered streaming. Five separate sources told Reuters that this was the case.

According to Reuters, Comcast and EA have tested such a streaming service for more than two years. Games from the Madden, FIFA, Monopoly, and Plants vs. Zombies franchises were called out as those being available for streaming. The report goes on to say that you'll be able to use a tablet you already own as a controller to play the games, suggesting the games on offer will be smaller, mobile games rather than bigger, console-level titles. The list of available games is reportedly still being hashed out.

Sources told Reuters that Comcast will focus on casual and family games first, before later considering FPS and action games. It will all come down to user preference, the report says.

Comcast has more than 22 million customers in the United States, which would (potentially) make the company a major player in the home gaming space if the deal goes through. An EA representative declined to comment when approached by GameSpot, while we've yet to hear back from a Comcast representative about this reported deal.

Sources told Reuters that EA and Comcast want to make buying games as easy as ordering a pay-per-view movie. "This could create a new distribution model that circumvents console and video-streaming device makers," Reuters points out.

Both EA and Comcast were featured in this year's Worst Company In America poll from consumer affairs blog The Consumerist. After "winning" two years running, EA was knocked out in the first round this year, while Comcast "won" it all, taking home the Golden Poo award.