Users in Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine were met with access denied error messages when trying to log into EA’s DMR and store platform, Origin. In EA’s Q and A forum, an employee identified as community manager Tom made the official statement that “In compliance with US embargoes and sanctions laws, Origin is not available in Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine (Crimea region)”. This is especially odd in Iran, as the U.S. embargo on the country was recently lifted.

With confusion swirling around the issue, many have noted that Steam, Google Play, Microsoft, and various other software distributors have not prevented purchases of their products in the countries effected by United States embargos, and have made no mention of their intention to do so. This has caused many to speculate that the ban is not being enforced due to mandates by the United States Government.

Frustrations are growing into an audible din online, as EA is not refunding these customers for the games that they had already purchased.  EA corporate offices could not be reached for comment on whether or not an initiative to refund their customers was in the works, but many are looking to their twitter feed for any kind of definitive statement.

What do you think about this unannounced software embargo? Should EA have given these users fair warning before locking them out of their game libraries? Should customers in the effected countries receive compensation for the products that they’ve already purchased? Let us know how you feel in the comments below, and stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for breaking news on the matter.