He also emphasizes cross-play, something that EA shares with its new partners in Game Pass at Microsoft. Blank goes as far as to promise that a large number of new games will be ' cross-play by default.' On top of everything, Blank says that EA isn't done rolling out announcements, and that at least one more surprise is still in store for customers intrigued by this new direction. He promises a faster overall experience that gets players to their games with shorter loading times. Speaking with VentureBeat, EA senior vice president Michael Blank emphasized the reasoning behind the name change to EA Desktop App from Origin. It will also continue to support Steam releases of EA games, acting as a secondary launcher much like Ubisoft's uPlay and.

This new application will be mostly focused on supporting EA Play, the subscription service previously known as both Origin Access and EA Access. In an attempt at a fresh start, EA is rebranding Origin as the EA Desktop App, as VentureBeat reports. With the Epic Games Store looming as seemingly the only true competition for Valve's dominance of digital distribution on PC, EA has decided to bow out of the race and straighten out its branding in the process.

Related: UFC 4 Removes In-Game Ads In Response To Massive Player Backlash While EA did attract some third party support to its marketplace, most stuck with Steam, GOG, and other platforms throughout Origin's life. The same can't really be said of Origin, because of a lack of interest in EA's catalog or abundant options elsewhere in the market, especially since the launch of Steam's newest competitor, the Epic Games Store. EA's PC client has never been particularly popular among players. Despite plenty of criticism of Valve's platform, it remains the leading digital storefront on PC with plenty of devoted fans.

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