You stare at the screen, bewildered. You literally just launched Origin (or the EA App) to click the "Play" button. How can the game claim the client isn't there?
: Open the app, click the three lines (menu) in the top-left, go to Help > App Recovery , and select Clear Cache .
This error is a relic of the transition between Valve’s Steam platform, EA’s now-defunct Origin client, and the new EA App. It involves broken registry links, broken authorization certificates, and the complex "wrapper" technology used to launch the game.