The Frustration of Dual Platforms: A Gamers’ Still Life

Greetings, fellow gamers!

Today, I want to share an utterly perplexing experience I’ve had with game installations, specifically involving Steam and Origin. Buckle up; this might be a bumpy ride!

Recently, I purchased three new games on Steam, all of which my system is able to run smoothly. However, I encountered a rather absurd hurdle: EA mandates that I access their titles through Origin, meaning that whenever I attempt to launch a game via Steam, I am rerouted to the Origin client. At first glance, this seems manageable—until you realize that Origin fails to acknowledge the installation that’s clearly sitting on my hard drive.

The chaos escalates when I try to circumvent this issue by re-downloading the games through Origin. Here’s how that plays out:

1. If the game isn’t already installed, it insists on forcing the download through Steam.
2. If the game is already installed, it throws an error saying it can’t download the game, prompting me to try again.

This cycle of confusion left me scratching my head, as I communicated my predicament to an EA representative. Though they were friendly and eager to assist, we ultimately went through the typical uninstall-reinstall process to no avail—leading to an agonizing three-day wait for a download, courtesy of my slow Australian internet connection.

With a sprinkle of hope, another EA representative suggested I focus on Steam’s side of things. I performed a few actions, including clearing the download cache and repairing library folders on Steam. This seemed to do the trick—Origin finally recognized that the game was installed! But then came the next hurdle: when I clicked ‘play,’ nothing happened. The game would initiate the first-time setup through Steam but then merely stall, resetting the Origin client and sending me back to the home page.

Of course, I also reached out to Steam support, hoping they might lend a hand. Instead, they directed me back to EA or suggested seeking a refund—though I had previously received a refusal for a refund due to the sluggish download speed, leaving me feeling completely lost.

This entire saga makes me wonder: why can we even purchase games through Steam if we’re just handed over to another client for access?

If anyone has faced a similar conundrum or has any insights that could lead to a resolution, I would greatly appreciate your advice! Even just knowing that I’m not alone in this frustrating experience would mean