I was never really excited to use EA’s Origin–a digital distribution platform  competing with Valve’s more popular Steam–but when they start throwing free games at me, I have a hard time complaining.

EA have just announced that people who pre-order Mass Effect 3 on Origin will receive the months-old Battlefield 3 for free. This is a great way for EA to incentivise people to use their service, but Origin is actually the only way you can purchase Mass Effect 3–and many other EA titles–online. This forced exclusivity has rubbed many customers the wrong way.

Note that this deal only applies to pre-orders on Origin, so console players unfortunately don’t have a chance at this deal.

Having skipped Battlefield 3 when it came out last Fall, I am strongly considering this combo deal.