A Way Out does not start (Steam)

Hey @Dirtz2k 

Great breakdown, and thanks for all the information!

Could I get a few additional bits as well?

• Are your Steam and EA accounts linked together? (are those linked accounts currently signed in)
• Do you own A Way Out on Steam or access via EA Play?
• Have you played the full game or the friend's path on either the Steam or EA app clients in the past?

Also if you haven't can you try the following?

• Try deleting all EA app files from the following locations:
  • C:\ProgramData
  • C:\Users\[username]\AppData
• Then clear the Steam download Cache after restart your machine
• Once you are back up, launch Steam (only) as an admin and try running the game. 

For your questions on how the EA app can see Steam (EA) games, Installed games that require the EA app launcher and linked accounts can tell the EA app you own a game on another client and will make it appear in the EA app client. 

We don't have information on which EA files control launching, as we don't support manually editing files. We can dive through troubleshooting steps and report it back to the team, in the case of bugs. 

Thanks!

Hi @EA_Illium 

thanks for the quick reply and helpful instructions, unfortunately no progress yet.

• Yes, they are linked and the only ccounts I have on each platform. EA account management shows the linked status, but have not found anything in steam to indicate that. I have never tried logging in to EA with SteamID though (if that matters).
• I own A Way Out on Steam (purchase Jan 2023)
• I have owned it before during an EA Play membership and had installed it. I never played, but likely had started it - EA says total 6 min playtime. In the EA App Library, a warning shows that games had been removed due to an expired membership (Dec 2022). I cannot recall if I had uninstalled it between membership and steam purchase, but probably not.

I tried now with your instructions:

1. Delete everything with EA (and Origin) in C:\ProgramData   (had to stop EA background service to delete its log)
2. Delete everything with EA (and Origin) in C:\Users\[username]\AppData
3. Reboot
4. Clear download cache in steam->Settings->Download->Clear Cache
5. Restart Steam
6. Start A Way Out

==> still the same issue. The only differenceis that when starting at the beginning, Steam said something with "…download…" for half a second - too fast for me to accurately read.

Thanks!

Hey @Dirtz2k 

Apologies for the delay, to check if the EA app client is currently installed on your device. 

If so, can you try uninstalling it, and deleting the folder at: Program Files/EA/EA Games/Electronic Arts (if its there)

After restarting your PC, check Task Manager for anything like "EA Background Service" (and stop/end the task if running).

Then try once more to launch Steam and A Way Out. Let me know if this fixes it for you or if you continue running into issues. 

Hi @EA_Illium ,

thanks for the reply and suggestion, but no difference. What I did:

- uninstalled EA App
- deleted EA/Electronic Arts folders in Program Fles
- Deleted EA and Origin stuff in %APPDATA%
- Deleted EA and Origin stuff in ProgramData

- Reboot PC

- nothing in task manager, but there is a service registered (EAAntiCheatService). It shows as Stopped though.

- Start Steam
- Start A Way Out
- EA Installer downloads and installs EA App
- Same loop with validating game etc. as originally.

- checked Task manager now again and see:

  *EA BackgroundService

  *EACefSubProcess.exe

  *EACefSubProcess.exe

  *EALocalHostSvc.exe

  *EADesktop.exe

  *EACefSubProcess.exe

  *EACefSubProcess.exe

  *EACefSubProcess.exe

(yes, its multiple of those. The last 7 all show as "EA")

Best Regards,

Dirtz2k

Hi @EA_Illium ,

do you have any other things that I can try to get this running?

Hi @EA_Illium ,

if even you are helpless, can you refund the game or give me credit to buy another game even though I purchased on Steam?As you agree I cannot even start the game and have tried everything possible, this is a clear software fault.

Hey @Dirtz2k 

Thanks for reaching back out to the community on Answers HQ, we passed the report on for our team to be aware of. Apologies for not updating this thread!

With similar reports we've seen in the past, typically there is either something happening with the game install or with the game or the EA app client running as intended. 

Based on the steps we've tried, we can try taking a look at a DxDiag file if you can share one to see if any specific error is shown with A Way Out. 

If not we can also give the following a try if you have not previously. 

• Check for other applications that may be limiting EA App or Game performance
• Run the System File Checker tool, then Check for Windows and GPU updates  
• Repair or Install the VC++ files for your game (Guide here)
• Restart your device in Clean Boot mode first then try again.
• Try a new user or admin account

If you would prefer to request a refund, we would need to submit it via Steam since it was purchased through the Valve client we don't have the ability through our support to refund. 

Cheers!

Hi @EA_Illium ,

thanks for the quick reply after reopening. Unfortunately no progress so far.

- How can I share the DxDiag file privately?

    it says no errorrs an at the Windows Error Reporting Section it only shows issues with:

      ArmouryWebBrowserEdge.exe

      praid:Microsoft.Xbox.WidgetsApp

      WowClassic.exe

   no idea how old these are though.

- checked the "other apps" article -> no change

- Win + GPU updates done (have not switched to Win 11 though...)-> no change

- DSIM/SFC -> no change

- vcredist 2013 -> repaired both, no change

- vcredist 2015 -> error, as newer version is already installed, repaired them both through Windows settings (ver 14.40.33810 installed) -> no change

- tried admin account with or without UAC enabled) -> no change

- tried clean boot, get a few errors, including steam because associated services arent running (reinstalled Steam Service) -> no change

Steam says there is too much time passed already for a refund...

Hi @Dirtz2k 

Quick call out the Dxdiag has no PII (Personal Identification Information).

WIth that in mind, you can share one in a reply here as a txt file. 

or you can DM me a link from a source like G-drive and I could view it from there. 

Cheers, 

Hi,

as I cannot upload zip files here, have upload to OneDrive - same password.

https://1drv.ms/t/s!AthS9LTT7xF9gpBUTRjhaQ4GnEbYqg?e=3IRaVB

(available for 1 month)

Thanks,