EA Games and EA Access Coming to Steam May Signal Origin's End by Gina

EA Games and EA Access Coming to Steam May Signal Origin’s End –

After years of absence, Electronic Arts is returning its games to Steam. Back in 2011, EA removed its library from Steam in favor of its own digital storefront, Origin. And while this is good news for the millions of gamers who use Steam, this has left Origin’s future in question. With its games back on the most popular PC platform, gamers will likely turn there to buy EA’s titles, which seems to indicate the decline of Origin.

It’s no secret that Steam is the gaming platform of choice for PC players. After EA pulled its games, Origin became the only place to buy and play them digitally, meaning you needed it to play Mass Effect 3, The Sims 4 or Apex Legends. This was the only reason many gamers bothered with the platform at all.

Additionally, Origin has its share of issues. In some cases, it has stopped certain games built on older software, like EA Download Manager, from working. In comparison, Steam rarely has server issues, games don’t usually break from the client and users don’t lose their entire libraries over a suspension or ban. However, EA’s games coming to Steam where they will, presumably, reach a wider audience than before doesn’t mean that Origin is going anywhere, at least not for now.

In the past, EADM or EA Downloader made users input keys or verify a game via internet for digital rights management (DRM) purposes. Origin is built on this old software, which is where a lot its issues with updating or playing games on the platform stem from. Steam of course has DRM games, but the client itself is not DRM software. So even though EA’s games are on Steam, these titles will still require an Origin account and the client for DRM purposes.

For the time being, Origin is sticking around, though it’ll certainly see a decline in sales from its store. However, there’s one more factor to consider that may ultimately lead to Origin’s end: EA Access. EA’s gaming service from consoles is making its way to Steam, which is a major sign that Origin may become irrelevant in the coming years, as it has a similar service called Origin Access. The two are essentially the same, so there’s no reason for both to exist on PC.

Additionally, EA Access is totally separate from Origin. The games are already accessed through EA’s servers, meaning they don’t need DRM checks. Between this and games coming to Steam, Origin has been made less and less relevant, though not completely obsolete just yet. In the future, Origin could be reduced to being solely a DRM measure or removed entirely if EA heavily shift to a gaming service model. Regardless, the storefront part of Origin will surely see a sharp decline in sales with EA’s return to Steam.

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This story was originally featured at https://www.cbr.com/ea-games-and-ea-access-coming-to-steam-may-signal-origins-end/