April 17 Will Be the End of an Era for EA

Electronic Arts has recently announced that it will shut down its Origin platform on April 17, 2025. Despite not being a very popular platform, EA’s Origin is still used by some people, and this could be bad news for gamers who do not own 64-bit computers and are unable to use the newer EA App.

Started in 2011, Origin is EA’s first-party digital distribution platform on PC. While Origin was not the preferred platform of most gamers, it had several exclusive titles, including all of EA’s best games between 2011 and 2018, which helped the platform to grow. This approach only started to change in 2019 with the release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on Steam. In 2022, EA launched the new EA App, which was set to replace Origin. However, the platform remained available, as the EA App required a 64-bit-compatible computer, while Origin ran on older 32-bit machines.

Related

7 Forgotten Electronic Arts Franchises

EA is notorious for sitting on franchises, leaving a once-popular series dormant for far too long, where only nostalgia remains for some players.

Now, EA has revealed that Origin will be shut down on April 17, and gamers need to upgrade to the EA App to continue having access to their games. The reason for Origin’s shutdown is that Microsoft has stopped supporting old 32-bit software. Therefore, gamers need to update their operating system to Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit versions) and install the new app, logging into the same account. Fortunately, gamers who enabled cloud saves will have their saved data automatically transferred to the EA App. However, EA warned that some mods may stop working after the transition.

EA Will Shut Down Origin on April 17, 2025

While this change will not impact many gamers, there are still folks who use old 32-bit computers and will be unable to access the EA App. There is no known workaround to EA shutting down Origin, so gamers will need to purchase new PCs to continue playing their already-bought games. In recent years, EA has been adding more games to Steam to cater to the preferences of its players, so at least the EA games purchased via the platform will continue to be playable on 32-bit systems.

Origin is not the only service EA is shutting down in 2025, though. Earlier this month, EA revealed that it will shut down the servers of at least 13 games this year, including some highly popular titles such as Madden NFL 21 on June 30. Most losses will happen on January 29, when The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Blood and Glory Immortals, Contract Killer: Sniper, Deer Hunter Classic, Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores, Eternity Warriors 4, Frontline Commando 2, and Frontline Commando: D-Day will be closed.

EA

Date Founded

May 27, 1982

Headquarters

Redwood City, California, United States

CEO

Andrew Wilson