When EA announced their rebranded digital download service Origin -- clearly aimed at getting a slice of Valve's Steam pie -- many wondered how they could possibly hope to become a worthwhile competitor by only selling EA games, while Steam features games from almost every major publisher (sans Blizzard).

Over the weekend, that goal became a little more plausible, as EA have announced that PC games from three major third party publishers -- Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, THQ, Capcom -- will soon be available for purchase and download on Origin, kicking things off with Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row: The Third and more promised to come:

“We are very pleased to partner with EA and have Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's key PC titles available on Origin,” said Greg Ballard, senior vice president, Digital Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “In growing our digital offerings for consumers we want to give fans increased access to critically acclaimed titles such as Batman: Arkham City.”

“THQ is excited to work with Origin and to offer players another new, innovative way to experience the over-the-top fun of Saints Row: The Third,” said Terri Schiek, senior vice president of publishing, Americas at THQ. “We look forward to building our relationship with the Origin team, and to continue to deliver great content for the platform.”

“When we met with the EA team and discussed their long-term vision for Origin, we were excited to lend our weight to their efforts,” said Christian Svensson, senior vice president at Capcom Entertainment. “We hope to expand our PC fanbase for our legendary brands on Origin.”

As much as we all love Steam, it's nice to see the market getting some healthy competition in this space and we're suitably impressed by Origin's download speeds.