Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is ‘Steam Native,’ So You Don’t Need the EA App to Play the Game on PC

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is “Steam native,” which means the EA App is not required to play the game on Valve’s platform.

Most EA-published video games do require the EA App, which replaced Origin in 2022, to play on Steam, much to the annoyance of many PC gamers.

For example, the Steam store page for Respawn’s battle royale Apex Legends includes a note that it “requires” an EA account, which supports linking to a Steam account. The 10-year-old Dragon Age Inquisition not only requires an EA account to play on Steam, but EA online activation and Origin (now outdated) client software installation and background use as well.

But EA and developer BioWare have decided to make the upcoming action fantasy role-playing sequel go “all-in” on Steam in news that’s already been welcomed by PC gamers. The decision comes following a backlash to Sony’s decision to force Steam users to create a PlayStation Network account in order to play games published to Valve’s platform — including single-player games.

Meanwhile, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is verified on Steam Deck, BioWare tweeted.

We’re making great progress towards our fall launch date, and can confirm early that #DragonAge: The Veilguard is going all-in on @Steam features!
⚔️We’re verified on Steam Deck.
⚔️We’ll be Steam native – meaning the EA App will not be required to play the game.

Details on…

— Dragon Age (@dragonage) July 25, 2024

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is still without a release date, although BioWare has said it’s out fall 2024. The studio said it’s making “great progress” towards the fall launch date, but there’s no announcement just yet. Details on launch are coming later this summer, the developer added.

Earlier this week, BioWare revealed who voices the companions in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, in addition to some returning actors from past games. As previously confirmed, all the companions are romance options for the player.

Much of BioWare’s creative and voice talent are set to appear on a panel today, July 26, at San Diego Comic-Con. Overnight, SAG-AFTRA announced that its video game voice actors are on strike from today after over a year-and-a-half of negotiations between game companies and workers that has not yet resulted in a deal.

In the meantime, check out some of the Dragon Age: The Veilguard details we’ve learned so far about its difficulty options, combat, and character creator, as well as our first preview.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.