EA app / FC26 (Steam version) — persistent "Game license is invalid"
EA app / FC26 (Steam version) — persistent "Game license is invalid" / "This game is managed by Steam" errors preventing launch, ~4 days.
Summary:
FC26 was purchased on Steam. Launch attempts fail with alternating errors: "Game license is invalid" and "We were unable to process your request because 'EA SPORTS FC 26' is managed by Steam. Go to Steam to complete your request." The Sims 4 (also EA, also Steam) launches fine on the same machine, same account — so this appears isolated to FC26.
Already tried (no effect):
- Reinstalling EA app multiple times, including letting Steam reinstall it fresh
- Unlinking and relinking Steam account
- Clearing EA app cache via in-app option
- Verifying integrity of FC26 game files via Steam
- Deleting the EA license folder manually
- Deleting the full local entitlement/catalog cache (%LocalAppData%\EADesktop) and letting it fully re-sync
- Reinstalling anti-cheat (Javelin)
- Testing with and without VPN
- Full PC restart, checking for zombie EA/Steam processes, launching EA app manually before handoff
None of the above resolved the issue. The failure is reproducible even after a full local cache wipe.
Root cause found in EABackgroundService.log:
Repeated fatal assertion crash on every launch attempt via Steam:
FATAL ASSERT FAILED cond: gameRunStatus.offerKey.offerId.isValid() msg: The parameter [gameRunStatus] has an invalid offerId func: eax::components::contentInstall::ContentInstallComponent::Impl::handleMessage line: 3361
This occurs immediately after EASteamLauncher connects and EA app successfully queries the catalog for Steam App ID 3405690 (FC26), finding 11 offers — but then crashes when resolving the specific offerId for the launch request, which breaks the Steam↔EA app handoff and produces the error dialogs.
EA app version: 13.764.0-6277-c6f1d610f
Request: Since this is a reproducible client-side assertion failure (not a local file/cache corruption issue, confirmed by full cache reset not fixing it), please escalate to technical/engineering rather than standard cache/reinstall troubleshooting. Log file (EABackgroundService.log) attached.
