Not only are EA games going to be released on Steam henceforth—in and of itself a big deal—but the games will be totally free of DRM. It seems the largest video games publisher has learned its lesson, and learned the hard way: legitimate gamers (that is, non-pirates) want nothing to do with digital rights management.

Right now, gamers can purchase titles like Spore, Mass Effect, Crysis and FIFA Manager 09 (among others) from Valve’s digital distribution service. Titles expected to be released on Steam in the near future include Mirror’s Edge and Dead Space.

It’s a coup for Valve—look how many top tier publishers use our service to distribute their games!—and something of an admission of guilt by EA. You’ll recall how would-be gamers absolutely freaked out over the harsh SecureROM DRM found in Spore. Not wanting to repeat that embarrassing (and, more importantly, costly) experience, EA has embraced Steam, no DRM required.

And now how long do gamers have to wait for DRM as a whole to be recognized for what it is: punishment for legitimate gamers (as pirates crack and crack away)?