How to Install the EA Desktop App on the Steam Deck

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install the official EA Desktop App on your Steam Deck.

EA Desktop App on the Steam Deck

Installing the EA Desktop App (Formerly called Origin) to your Steam Deck gives you access to all of the games you bought from that platform.

While the EA Desktop App doesn’t natively support the Steam Deck’s operating system, we can use Proton to get it to run.

Proton is a compatibility layer that allows us to install and run Windows-based applications on Steam OS.

Over the following sections, we will show you how to install the EA Desktop App to your device and run it within gaming mode.

You can also install several other game launchers to your Steam Deck alongside this client. These include Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net, and the Epic Games Store.

Running EA Desktop App on the Steam Deck

By the end of the following few sections, you will have the EA Desktop App up and running on your Steam Deck.

These steps show you where to download the app and how to set it up to run properly through the Proton compatibility layer.

Swapping to Desktop Mode

1. To be able to install software that isn’t available through the Steam store, such as the EA Desktop App, you must swap to desktop mode.

You can begin changing to desktop mode by opening the STEAM menu. You can open this menu by tapping “STEAM menu” in the bottom-left corner or pressing the “STEAM” button on your Steam Deck.

Open the Steam menu

2. With the STEAM menu open, navigate down to the “Power” option and select it.

Switch to the power menu

3. With the Power menu open, your next step is to select the “Switch to Desktop” option.

Change to desktop mode

Downloading the EA Desktop App to your Steam Deck

4. Once you are in desktop mode, you want to open your web browser. Any web browser will work, but we will be using Google Chrome.

Open web browser

5. With the web browser open, you will want to go to the following URL (1.). This URL is where you can download the EA Desktop App to your Steam Deck.

https://www.ea.com/ea-app

Once on the page, click the “Download the EA app” button (2.). If you are asked to select a place to save the installer, we recommend the “Downloads” folde,r as it is easily accessible.

Download the EA App Installer to the Steam Deck

Add the EA Desktop APP Install to your Steam Library

6. Since the EA Desktop App isn’t natively available for the Steam Deck, we must run it through Proton.

To run the installer through Proton, we must add the EA App Installer as a non-steam game to your library. We can begin this process by opening the Steam desktop client on your device.

Open the Steam desktop client

7. With the Steam desktop client open, click the “Add a game” button (1.) in the bottom-left corner of the window.

In the context menu that appears, you must click the “Add a non-steam game” option (2.).

Add a non-steam game using the Steam client

8. You will now see a list of programs you can easily add.

Since the EA Desktop App installer won’t be listed here, we must click the “Browse...” button to find it.

Browse to select the EA App Installer on the Steam Deck

9. With the file browser open, you will want to change to the “Downloads” directory (1.).

Within this directory, look for and select the EA App installer on your Steam Deck. It should be labeled “EAappInstaller.exe” (2.).

Once the installer is selected, click the “Open” button (3.).

Find EA App Installer in the Downloads directory

10. You should now have the EA App installer within the list, and it should have a ticked checkbox (1.).

Once you have ensured that you have the EA App installer, click the “Add Selected Programs” button (2.) to add it to your Steam Deck library.

Add the EA App Installer to the Steam Deck Library

Set the Compatibility Mode for EA Desktop on your Steam Deck

11. Now that we have added the EA App Installer to your Steam Deck library, you must find it. The easiest way to find the installer is to type “eaappinstaller” into the search bar (1.).

Once the entry “EAappInstaller.exe” appears, click it to open its Steam library entry (2.).

Find EA App Installer in your Steam Library

12. With the EA App Installer selected within the Steam library, click the cog on the left-hand side (1.).

In the context menu that appears, click the “Properties” option (2.).

Open EA App Properties

13. With the properties screen option, change to the “Compatibility” tab (1.).

Next, ensure that the “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool” option is ticked (2.).

Once ticked, set the Proton version to “Proton Experimental” (3.).

Set compatibility mode of EA App to Proton Experimental

Installing the EA Desktop App to your Steam Deck

14. Now that we have set the EA App Installer to run under Proton, we can launch it.

You can launch the EA Desktop App installer on your Steam Deck by clicking the “PLAY” button.

Launch the EA App Desktop Installer

15. To install the EA App to your Steam Deck, you only need to click the “LET'S GO” button. You will not see any more prompts as the game client is installed.

Click lets go to begin installation of EA Desktop App

16. While you can now log in to EA App on your Steam Deck, we need to complete a few additional tasks.

You can close out of the client by clicking the “X” button in the top-right corner.

Exit the EA App

Updating the Launch Target for EA Desktop App

17. Even though we installed EA App to our Steam Deck, the shortcut we created still points to the installer.

Bring up the settings context menu by clicking the cog icon (1.).

In the context menu, you will then want to click the “Properties” option (2.).

Open the EA App Steam Deck Properties

Updating the Shortcut Name

18. With the properties panel open, you will first want to rename the EA App Installer to something more relevant.

For example, you can rename this shortcut to “EA App” or “EA Client“.

You can type in this field by clicking it and pressing the STEAM + X buttons to bring up the on-screen keyboard.

Rename the EA App Shortcut

Changing the Launch Target

19. We now need to change the launch target so that this shortcut will launch EA App on the Steam Deck.

To set the launch target, click the “Browse” button next to the “TARGET” text field.

Browse to select the Launch Target

20. To find where the EA App was installed on your Steam Deck, you must enable hidden files.

To enable this option, bring up the browser options panel by clicking the icon in the top-right corner (1.).

Next, enable hidden files by clicking the “Show Hidden Files” option (2.).

Enable Hidden Files

21. With the hidden folders now being shown, we will need to navigate through a fair few directories to get to the right place.

  1. Start setting the launch target by opening the “.local” directory.
  2. Next, navigate to the “share” directory.
  3. We can now move into the “Steam” directory.
  4. The next folder you must change to is labeled “steamapps“.
  5. You will now want to move to the “compatdata” directory. This directory is where any game or program running under Proton is installed on your Steam Deck, including EA App.
Navigate to the .local directory

22. Now that we are in the “compatdata” directory, we need to ensure that the files are sorted by newest to oldest. You can verify this by clicking the “Date” column (1.) and ensuring the arrow is pointing down.

Once sorted, the folder you are after should be at the top (2.). Note the folder name somewhere, as you will need to know this later.

Find the EA App Steam Deck Proton Directory

23. Now that we are in the Proton directory for EA App on our Steam Deck we will need to navigate a bit further to where the app itself is actually installed.

  1. First off, change to the “pfx” folder.
  2. Next, change to the “drive_c” directory. This directory is where the file system is simulated for EA App as it runs on your Steam Deck.
  3. Now, change to the “Program Files” directory.
  4. Now, find the directory named “Electronic Arts” and open it.
  5. You will now find the first of two folders named “EA Desktop“. Navigate into this folder to continue.
  6. Here is the second folder named “EA Desktop“. Open the folder to continue.
Change to the pfx directory

24. Within this directory, scroll down and select the executable named “EADesktop.exe” (1.).

Now, click the “Open” button (2.) to change the launch target to the EA Desktop App.

Select the EA App Desktop Launcher in the Steam Deck

Changing the Start In Target

25. If the “START IN” hasn’t been automatically set, you will need to set it by clicking the “Browse” button.

Browse to choose the Start In directory

26. You will now need to show hidden folders within this dialog. To do this, bring up the context menu by right-clicking. You can right-click by pressing the L2 trigger on your Steam Deck.

In the context menu that appears, click the “Show Hidden Folders” option.

Right click and show hidden folders

27. After enabling the hidden folders, you will now be able to navigate to the EA Desktop proton directory. This is the same directory you selected in the previous section. But just in case you are unsure where this is, let us walk you through the steps quickly.

Please note you can navigate these folders easily by using the D-PAD on your Steam Deck.

  1. Now, navigate into the “.local” directory.
  2. The next directory you must open is called “share“.
  3. Scroll down and navigate into the “Steam” folder.
  4. Find and open the directory labeled “steamapps“.
  5. Finally, navigate into your Steam Decks “compatdata” folder. This folder is where you will find your EA App proton directory.
  6. Scroll down and look for the Steam Deck proton directory belonging to EA App.

    You should know the name of this folder from earlier on in this guide. This is the jumble of numbers that looks like “316286486“.
  7. Change into the “pfx” folder.
  8. Open the “drive_c” folder to continue.
  9. Change to the “Program Files” folder.
  10. Now find and open the folder named “Electronic Arts“.
  11. Now open the first directory named “EA Desktop“.
Browse to the .local folder

28. Finally, select the second folder named “EA Desktop” (1.).

Once selected, click the “OK” button (2.) to set the START IN Target.

Select the second EA Desktop Folder

Ensure Double Quotes are set

29. Before you finish up in the properties screen, ensure that the “TARGET” and “START IN” fields start and end with a double quote (").

Some versions of Steam on the Steam Deck won’t automatically add these, causing apps like EA App not to launch.

Ensure both Target and Start In fields have Double Quotes

Making a Folder to Store your EA Desktop App Games

30. Let us create a folder on your Steam Deck to store your EA Desktop App games.

While you could install all of these within the Proton directory, they will get deleted if you ever need to re-install just EA App.

Begin this process by clicking the folder icon in your taskbar.

Open the Dolphin file browser

31. With the Dolphin file explorer open, right-click in the window to bring up the context menu. You can right-click by using the L2 trigger on your Steam Deck.

With the context menu open, select the “Create New” option (1.). With the list that appears, click the “Folder” option (2.).

Create new directory to store EA Games

32. In the dialog that pops up, type in a new name for this folder (1.). For us, we will be naming this folder “EA Games“. You can type in this dialog by bringing up the virtual keyboard by pressing the STEAM + X buttons.

To create the folder, click the “OK” button (2.).

Give new folder a name

33. With the folder created, we must create a symbolic link between it and our EA Apps proton directory.

To simplify this process, split the Dolphin file browser by clicking the “Split” button.

Split Dolphin file browser

34. With the file browser now split, bring up the options by clicking the icon in the top-right (1.).

In the context menu, click the “Show Hidden Files” option (2.).

Show hidden files in Dolphin

35. Now that we have enabled hidden files within the Dolphin file explorer, we can now navigate to where our EA App Proton directory is on the Steam Deck.

  1. Start by navigating to the “.local” directory.
  2. Next, change to the folder named “share“.
  3. You will now want to open the “Steam” folder within the Dolphin file explorer.
  4. We now need to change to the “steamapps” folder.
  5. For the next step, we need to open the “compatdata” folder.
Open the .local folder within the file explorer

36. Once in the “compatdata” folder, you must open the file browser settings by clicking the settings icon in the top-right corner (1.).

Next, highlight the “Sort By” option (2.). Now ensure that the sort by is set to “Modified” (3.), and that the “Newest First” (4.) option is set.

Sort compatdata folder by modified date

36. The first Proton directory should be the one where the EA desktop App is installed on your Steam Deck.

Open this directory to continue with this guide.

Open the Proton folder for EA App on the Steam Deck

37. While we are now in the Proton directory for EA App, we need to get to where its actually reading its data from.

  1. Next, swap to the “pfx” directory.
  2. Finally, you will want to change to the “drive_c” directory.
Open the pfx directory in Dolphin

38. Now that we are in the right place, click and drag the “EA Games” folder from the left to the right (1.).

You will see a context menu appear with a few different options. You can click the “Link Here” (2.) option to create a symbolic link between the home directory and the simulated C drive.

Create symbolic link for EA Games folder

39. You should now have the “EA Games” folder on the right-side with a little link icon.

Directory symlink created

Launching the EA App in Steam Deck Desktop Mode

40. We can now launch the EA App on the Steam Deck. Since we are still in desktop mode, launch the Steam app and click the “PLAY” button.

Launch the EA Desktop App in Steam Deck

41. You can now log in to the EA App by typing in your username and password (1.).

Remember, you can bring up the keyboard by pressing the STEAM + X buttons. If the mouse isn’t working, hold the STEAM button on your Steam Deck.

We recommend ticking the “Keep me signed in” checkbox (2.) so you don’t have to type in your username and password continually.

Once you are all set, click the “SIGN IN” button (3.) to continue.

Login to the EA App

42. You should hopefully have EA App successfully running on your Steam Deck while you are in gaming mode.

EA Desktop Open while in Desktop mode on the Steam Deck

Changing the Default Install Location for EA App on your Steam Deck

43. EA App allows you to easily change the default install location for the games on your Steam Deck.

To change this, bring up the menu by clicking the icon in the top-left corner (1.).

Now, click the “Settings” (2.) option to open the settings panel.

Open the EA Desktop App Settings

44. With the EA App settings open on your Steam Deck change, to the “Download ” tab (1.).

Once on this tab, you can change the default install location by clicking the “EDIT” button (2.).

Adjust the default install location

45. In the dialog that pops up, click the “EA Games” folder you created earlier (1.).

Once selected, click the “OK” button (2.).

Select the new install location

46. The install location should now be updated to the directory you selected.

EA Desktop App install location updated

Returning to Gaming Mode

47. At this point, you can return your Steam Deck to gaming mode by clicking the “Return to Gaming Mode” icon.

Return to Steam Deck Gaming Mode

Finding EA Desktop App on your Steam Deck

48. Now that you are back in gaming mode, let us go and open the EA Desktop App on your Steam Deck.

Open the STEAM menu and select the “Library” option to continue.

Change to the Steam Deck library

49. In your Steam Deck library, change to the “NON-STEAM” tab (1.).

You should now find EA App within your Steam Deck Library (2.). Select the entry to continue.

Find EA App within the Steam Deck Library

50. Now, all you need to do to launch EA App on your Steam Deck while in gaming mode is to click the “Play” button.

Launch EA App in Steam Deck gaming mode

51. Below, you can see EA Play running on our Steam Deck while we are in gaming mode.

EA App running on the Steam Deck

Conclusion

Hopefully, at this point, you will now have the EA Desktop App running on your Steam Deck.

Please feel free to leave a comment below if you have any issues with getting EA App to run on your device.

If you found this guide useful, be sure to check out our many other Steam Deck guides.

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19 Comments

  1. Avatar for Tjark
    Tjark on

    Great, thank you! This step-by-step helps to avoid errors.
    btw: If you previously had already downloaded and installed a game in the EA App (Sims 4 in my case), you don’t have to re-download it again, because usually the game date is saved somewhere (in my case in the old compatdate >> game id-folder). You can copy the game data into the folder you set for downloading games in the newly installed EA App like discribed above. Then you can click download in the EA App and the client will recognize that it’s already there so it will finish the “download” right away. Make sure to backup your savegame somewhere before dealing with the EA App 🙂

  2. Avatar for Greg
    Greg on

    Great article. Very helpful and detailed. Thanks very much!

  3. Avatar for Tjark
    Tjark on

    Works well with Sims 4, good work, thank you!
    I could even restore my already downloaded game (Sims 4) in the EA App by setting the install-folder as in this instruction, then copy my previously downloaded game into the direction and finally “download” the game again in the EA client. It will recognize that it is already there, so right after it says “starting download” it will finalize the download and you can play.
    For all those who try to play Sims 4, the savegames are stored under: “/home/deck/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/*game-ID*/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/Electronic Arts/Die Sims 4/saves”. The saves always are titled like “Slot_00000001.save” and then counting through from 1.

  4. Avatar for Lydia
    Lydia on

    I am so thankful you put together this step by step guide. I watched a few YouTube videos but they were missing crucial steps. I then tried to follow your guide without an external mouse and keyboard but it was so tedious. Connected my mouse and keyboard, and it saved so much time and effort.

  5. Avatar for Courtenay
    Courtenay on

    Hey! I was able to do everything but when it came to logging in, I couldn’t use the steam deck screen keyboard. Is there something I did wrong? I can’t use any of the steam deck controls either.

    1. Avatar for Emmet
      Emmet on
      Editor

      Hi Courtenay,

      That is definitely a bit strange can you try holding the STEAM button and then press the “X” button to bring up the keyboard.

      Kind regards,
      Emmet

  6. Avatar for Doc
    Doc on

    Thx it worked on my updated OLED fine, only issue was that I didnt had any Electronic arts folder. So I closed the search window (in step of update the exe and path to it), I launched installer through steam again, EA app started (not the installer) and after that I had Electronic arts folder and I was able to finish this.

  7. Avatar for Alex
    Alex on

    Hey, as of 2024 this article works great. Actually I wanted to say thank you for actually writing this as though you were guiding someone who has no idea what they are doing because I do not and this got me all set up. Now the issue is my Ea App needs an update and I don’t know how to fix it.

  8. Avatar for Daniel
    Daniel on

    …Ok, I went through all those steps. How do I actually play the games? I already own mass effect legendary edition on steam, which I got the EA App to recognize by linking my accounts, but it won’t let me actually download it through the EA App (or not without buying it again anyway). It just says it’s in my library, and there is no button to actually download or launch it. Every guide I can find stops at this last step, as if it should be obvious, but it really isn’t obvious to me.

    1. Avatar for Emmet
      Emmet on
      Editor

      Hi Daniel,

      If you own the game through Steam then you can only install it through the Steam store. The EA App will recognize you as “owning” it but won’t actually let you download it unless you buy it directly through the EA App.

      Kind regards,
      Emmet

  9. Avatar for James Harris
    James Harris on

    Thanks for helping with this. I followed all the steps but I can launch any games I’ve installed on the ea app, it says
    ‘the program encountered E111000B at 00001BA5
    Wine is not supported!’

    Any ideas on what might have gone wrong?

    1. Avatar for Emmet
      Emmet on
      Editor

      Hi James,

      Unfortunately, some EA games seem to just completely refuse to work under Wine / Proton. it is more likely being caused by their anti-cheat they have been using in newer releases.

      Cheers,
      Emmet

  10. Avatar for Erwin
    Erwin on

    First of all, thanks for all your effords, highly appreciated!

    I come to step 64, and then the app won’t start…. i rebooted to factory defaults and tried again. Same outcome, the app doesn’t start…

    Any thoughts?

    1. Avatar for Emmet
      Emmet on
      Editor

      Hi Erwin,

      Sorry to hear that you are having issues with getting the EA Desktop to load. Have you ensured that the “START IN” and “LAUNCH” options start and end with double quotes? That is typically where thinks start to break.

      Cheers,
      Emmet

  11. Avatar for Robert McGovern
    Robert McGovern on

    Worked well to install it, but now there is a mandatory update that requires a restart. But restarting does’t trigger the install of said update.

    I had to manually go to “/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/TheEAappLauncher/pfx/drive_c/Program Files/Electronic Arts/EA Desktop/EA Desktop” and copy the directory from “StagedEADesktop/EA Desktop/” over “EA Desktop“, telling Dolphin to overwrite the files.

    1. Avatar for Tjark
      Tjark on

      Did this work to update the EA App?

    2. Avatar for Tjark
      Tjark on

      This updates the EA client without losing the games?

    3. Avatar for Sayeed
      Sayeed on

      Yes, pasting the contents from StagedEADesktop to EA Desktop worked for me. The only item I need to add is the address listed by Robert isn’t 100% correct. For me I had to go into …/TheEAAppLauncher/… foldername from step 26 of this guide… /pfx…

      As in whatever the long number you used in step 26 of this guide should be inserted into the bath in between TheEAAppLauncher and pfx

  12. Avatar for corsaire
    corsaire on

    thx is work