Battlefield 3 May Not Come To Steam After All
According to a list posted by EA, Steam is not one of the digital retailers expected to carry the upcoming FPS Battlefield 3. Of course this could be the result of the little “scuffle” that the service got into with the publisher a little while back.
Steam recently removed, then reinstalled a series of EA titles as they infringed on a contractual agreement with the company. This is, we think, the reason why the digital service is not listed as an official retailer for the digital version of Battlefield 3. EA’s new digital service, Origin, is listed at the top along with Direct2Drive and GamersGate. EA stated that they will offer games on all download sites, and that Origin is in no way an attempt to compete with Steam, but this may prove otherwise.
EA’s Support site goes into a bit of detail with these third-party retail sites, explaining that, “When a download service forbids publishers from contacting players with patches, new levels, items and other services – it disrupts our ability to provide the ongoing support players expect from us. At present, this is the case with only one download service. While EA offers its entire portfolio to this site, they have elected to not post many of our games. We hope to find a mutually agreeable solution to this issue soon.”
To put it simply, since Steam refused to list some of EA’s titles, the publisher is taking its own action against the digital retail service. EA has been contacted regarding Battlefield 3’s online availability, and as more word rolls in we will be here to update. In the meantime, what is your opinion on this Steam vs EA issue?
