Technical Issue with STEAM and EA App
I can't play the games I purchased from Steam. When I launch them, the usual startup prompts appear (EA App opens, Steam validates), but then the process stops with no error message. The game never actually launches. I think this may be due to purchasing an EA Play Pro membership, which removed my Steam-purchased titles from my EA library. I purchased Madden 26 via Steam. I also had an EA Play Pro membership, which may have caused a conflict by altering how the EA App reads ownership. I can download the game via Steam but cannot launch it because of this conflict. Since I own the game on Steam, and the EA App is required to launch it, I’m unable to play something I paid for. Re-purchasing via EA Play Pro isn’t a viable solution when I already own the game.
These are the steps that I've done and still had the same issue still there.
EA Support Steps Taken:
Clear EA App Cache
Open EA App.
Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner.
Go to Help > App Recovery > Clear Cache.
Restart both the Steam and EA App clients after clearing the cache.
Run EA App as Administrator
Fully close the EA App.
Right-click the EA App icon.
Select Run as administrator.
Try launching the game again from Steam.
Check Internet Connection
Confirmed I’m hardwired in with a 500 Mbps connection (no Wi-Fi issues).
Reinstall EA App
Fully uninstalled and reinstalled the EA App.
Tried launching Madden 26 from Steam again — issue persists.
Validate Game Files on Steam
Right-click game in Steam > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files.
Attempted Repair of Game via EA App
This option was unavailable because the EA App showed the game as owned through Steam.
The 3-dot menu only offered “Manage” and “Last Played,” no "Repair" option.
Persistent Issue:
After performing all the above steps, the issue remains:
Steam begins validating the game files.
EA App opens and says “Preparing Game…”.
Steam validation completes.
Nothing happens. Game doesn’t launch.
If I click "Play" again, the same cycle repeats with no error message.
I cant play any Madden Game bought from Steam its very frustrating because Steam points its finger to EA and EA points their finger to Steam. I'm sitting in Limbo without any true help to find out what the issue is.
Can anyone help me find a solution to this?
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help