EA Is Dealing the Final Blow to Origin, and Taking Some Users With It

EA's Origin app, launched in 2011 as a rival to Steam, is finally being replaced by the EA app. This transition, however, comes with significant drawbacks. The clunky user experience and frustrating logins that plagued Origin persist, and the switch presents challenges for gamers.

One major issue is the loss of access to games for users who haven't transferred their accounts from Origin to the new EA app. This means players risk losing access to purchased titles if they don't actively migrate their accounts.

Furthermore, the EA app only supports 64-bit operating systems, leaving users of 32-bit systems in the lurch. While Steam also dropped 32-bit support earlier in 2024, this decision highlights the precarious nature of digital game ownership. Although unlikely for modern systems, users running older 32-bit versions of Windows (like some Windows 10 versions sold until 2020) will need to reinstall their OS to access their games. A simple RAM check (32-bit systems max out at 4GB) can help determine if this is a concern.

This situation raises questions about digital ownership. Losing access to a purchased game library due to OS changes is frustrating, and this isn't unique to EA; Valve's Steam platform also dropped 32-bit support.

The increasing use of invasive DRM solutions, such as Denuvo, further complicates matters. These often require deep system access and impose arbitrary installation limits, regardless of legitimate purchase.

A potential solution is to support platforms like GOG (CD Projekt), which offers DRM-free games. This ensures continued access to purchased titles on any compatible hardware, indefinitely. While this approach opens the door to piracy, it hasn't prevented new releases, with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 slated for release on GOG.