EA's Origin now in alpha for Mac

Electronic Arts is rolling out an alpha version of its Origin client for Mac OS X in advance of an official release expected "soon."

The current alpha test release of Origin for Mac does not include access to the Origin Store, writes EA's Thierry Nguyen, who adds, "Rest assured, the store will be live — with a great catalog of EA and partner titles — when we formally release the client." The alpha also does not currently support one-click livestreaming to Twitch from within Origin, but plans to add the feature "as soon as possible."

Origin for Mac's alpha trial includes a free copy of PopCap's Bookworm.

The alpha client requires Mac OS X 10.6.8, the most recent version of "Snow Leopard," and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better.