Steam not in Battlefield 3's sights

EA's digital distribution war with Steam took another twist over the weekend with the revelation that upcoming first-person shooter Battlefield 3 will probably not be sold on Valve's digital platform.

Steam was not listed among Battlefield 3's digital retailers on EA's Battlefield 3 website (noticed by Joystiq, since pulled).

However, Battlefield 3 was listed for EA's own Origin service, as well as Direct2Drive and GamersGate.

It is the latest development in what is quickly becoming a battle for digital PC sales supremacy between EA and Steam.

Last week EA explained its decision not to sell a number of its games on Steam, including Crysis 2.

"Any retailer can sell our games, but we take direct responsibility for providing patches, updates, additional content and other services to our players," EA's SVP of global online David DeMartini said.

"You are connecting to our servers, and we want to establish an ongoing relationship with you, to continue to give you the best possible gaming experience. This works well for our partnership with GameStop, Amazon and other online retailers.

"Unfortunately, if we're not allowed to manage this experience directly and establish a relationship with you, it disrupts our ability to provide the support you expect and deserve.

"At present, there is only one download service that will not allow this relationship. This is not our choice, and unfortunately it is their customer base that is most impacted by this decision. We are working diligently to find a mutually agreeable solution."

EA launched Origin last month. It will be the only place you can download upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, but it is not necessary that you run Origin to play it.

EA declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer. Valve is yet to respond on the matter.