Comcast and EA in Talks to Stream Video Games to TV, Report Says

What's This?

EA is in talks with Comcast to stream titles such as 'FIFA Soccer' to living rooms.

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-05-03 16:20:35 UTC

EA Sports: It's in the game — and could soon stream to your living room.

The video-game developer is in talks with Comcast to add popular titles such as FIFA Soccer and Madden NFL to the cable provider's X1 streaming cable box, according to Reuters.

See also: 15 Vintage Video Games You Can Play on Your iPhone

Bringing video games into homes via the Internet — and without having to spend hundreds of dollars on consoles — has quickly become a new battleground for streaming boxes. Apple TV provides some games, as does Amazon's Fire TV. A deal with EA would help Comcast better compete.

Console sales for Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 have been reasonably strong, with the latter outshining its rival. A move by Comcast to bring fan favorites to a streaming box could end up cutting into that market.

Reuters reported that the initial focus from Comcast would be on family and casual gaming — a big area for Nintendo's Wii — with the possibility of moving into other areas, including first-person shooters.

Details on how the system would work are currently scarce. Comcast X1 users would be able to pay for games through the console, and use tablets to control them. Terms of the deal, such as revenue sharing, were not disclosed. Both Comcast and EA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A move to streaming would be advantageous for EA; it would allow the company to open up to a new market, and make it less dependent on console makers. EA's revenues have taken a hit recently due to lackluster sales for games for older consoles.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: comcast, EA, Entertainment, Gaming, Media, playstation, sony, X1