EA is shutting down Origin on PC and Mac, players will need a 64-bit OS to access their games
Players still using Origin will have to swap to the EA App or lose their PC game libraries
EA has announced that it will be shutting down its Origin service on PC and Mac, and that players with 32-bit operating systems will lose access to their libraries if they don’t upgrade.
In a pair of statements posted on its EA Help support page, the publisher informs players that Origin will be terminated on April 17 for both PC and Mac users.
A statement for PC users says the reason for the shutdown is that “Microsoft has stopped supporting 32-bit software”, while a similar statement for Mac users says the same about Apple.
Both statements say players will have to download the EA App in order to keep playing their games, but assures that no data should be lost during the transition.
“Your account and games will transfer to the EA app,” the EA Help page reads. “Log in to the EA app with the same account you use for Origin. When you log in, any games you had on Origin will be ready to play.
“Games that list in-game hours in Origin will list the same hours in the EA app. Anything you’ve saved through Origin’s cloud will also transfer.”
However, the statements also note that the EA App is only supported by 64-bit operating systems, meaning anyone with an older PC or Mac who still uses Origin to run older EA games will lose access to their library if they don’t upgrade.
Microsoft was still offering 32-bit versions of its Windows operating system until mid-2020, when it stopped distributing the 32-bit version of Windows 10 and focused solely on the 64-bit version. Windows 11 only supports 64-bit architectures.
Apple released macOS Catalina in 2019, the first of its operating system releases to only support 64-bit applications.
As such, anyone still running a 32-bit version of Windows 10 or older, or macOS Catalina (version 10.15.5) or older, won’t be able to install the EA App. Once Origin shuts down on April 17, they will have to upgrade toa 64-bit operating system before they can regain access to their library of EA games.
