14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts, the publisher of the upcoming Battlefield 3 first person shooter, and Valve, the company behind digital distribution service Steam, are reportedly close to an agreement which could mean that the new FPS is going to be available for purchase on Steam, not just on EA's own Origin service.
Special clauses in Valve's Steam policy, which say that all downloadable content for games needs to be sold through Steam itself, meant that EA was forced to take down quite a few of its big games, including Dragon Age 2 or Crysis 2, because it wanted to sell the DLC separately, through its own service.
These clauses have also meant that new EA titles, including the important Battlefield 3, won't be making their way onto Steam at all, despite EA and Valve revealing earlier this year that negotiations are being held to avoid such an issue.
Now, BF3 blog reports that an anonymous Valve source has confirmed that an agreement is close to being signed, so the millions of Steam users will be able to buy and play Battlefield 3 from Valve's own service on the PC, not just from EA's own Origin digital distribution store.
Neither Valve nor EA commented on this new report, but gamers should expect a concrete reveal soon, as we're getting extremely close to the release date of Battlefield 3, set to happen on October 25, in North America, and October 28, in Europe.
If a consensus is reached, it could mean much larger sales on the PC, as many Steam users have criticized EA's Origin and vowed to not use it, even if it means that they won't get to enjoy Battlefield 3.
Expect more details on whether or not Battlefield 3 will be out on Steam, and if titles like Crysis 2 or Dragon Age 2 will return to it, soon enough.