- EA has launched a new desktop app to replace Origin.
- The new app is more streamlined and lighter compared to its predecessor.
- We tried the app and found that it has few standout features to what already exists in the market.
After a decade of mediocrity, EA’s Origin platform for PC has been done away with and replaced by a sleeker, more streamlined offering.
The new app, simply called the EA app, was quietly launched on the 7th of October and is designed to address “the limitations of [Origin] in a quickly evolving entertainment landscape,” according to a blog post by the company.
EA seems incredibly thrilled about the new app, saying it is “the best possible place for you to experience EA’s incredible games, services and content.”
Well, we looked at the new app and it’s… Fine. It seems to be built on similar technology to Origin, but unlike Origin’s tedious signup and login experience, the new app is truthfully more streamlined.
A more streamlined way to get EA’s games
It took us a few minutes to set up a new account with the longest time spent waiting for EA to send us a verification code. EA says the app is its fastest and lightest PC client to date. It takes up 447 MBs of storage and around 450MBs of RAM while idle.
Looking up games on the app’s store is easy, with EA’s upcoming major titles front and centre when you open the app like the Dead Space remake, FIFA 23 and free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends. The app also reportedly features automatic game downloads and background updates so your “games are ready to play when you are.”
The app also lets you import your friend list from other platforms and services including Steam, Xbox and PlayStation. The EA app shows you what game’s your friends are playing too.
No doubt EA’s research revealed that users stick to certain apps because they want to stay connected to their friends. This method allows them to stay connected while spending more time on the EA app.
The app also offers integration with Discord.
EA says that the remaining Origin players, whoever they are, will be soon invited to jump ship to the EA app as Origin is wound down.
“By the time you receive your invite, all your games and content, including games previously installed, will be ready and waiting for you on the EA app,” EA says. Local and cloud save, and existing friends lists, will also apparently be transferred.
Here are more of our initial thoughts on the app:
In terms of our experiences with the app so far, the EA app is very similar to existing game store apps. It reminds us a lot of the GOG app, and also of the Origin app in terms of UI.
The UI is definitely easier to use, and there is a bevvy of settings available, including parental controls to limit game time. Many of the settings also take you out of the app and into your browser on EA’s website.
We tried to import our Steam friends and while the process was mostly quick and simple – including signing into Steam through the EA app platform and inputting a verification code sent to our Steam-linked email – for some reason it didn’t import any of our contacts.
It shows our Steam account is connected but says “No friends found.” We tried logging out and back in but this hasn’t fixed the issue.
From what we can see the multiplatform friends list integration is the only real stand-out feature of the app. No word yet if there are similar issues present with PlayStation and Xbox linking.
It is possible the Steam integration is region-locked in South Africa, but it could be that the recently launched app is still full of bugs. Either is a possible answer.
Currently, the app is only available for Windows PC and Mac OS users will have to keep using that version of Origin for now.
