20 Years Later, and EA Still Won't Let Me Play My Own Game Rating: 1/5
Here’s the brutal reality of this error in 2024/2025:
This isn't a hacker stealing your key. This is a failure of legacy software. EA’s old DRM (Digital Rights Management) server for Generals is either long dead or so broken that it flags every key as "in use." It’s trying to phone home to a server that has effectively been unplugged for a decade.
The game? Yes, 10/10. The installation experience? Avoid at all costs.