EA, one of the biggest companies in gaming, recently saw its blockbuster title Crysis 2 dropped from Steam, one of the biggest online distributors of video games. Battlefield 3 is another title from EA to go astray of Steam, despite being set to appear on other digital distribution services, including EA’s own.
Video game developers have recently come out against retailers for stunting the gaming industry while touting the success of digital distribution, and it looks as though a veritable fight has broken out in the world of digital distribution between Steam and EA’s Origin.
A report by Joystiq indicated that a distribution list for the upcoming Battlefield 3 game housed everyone except for Steam – the linked list has since disappeared to instead show a 404 error.
EA stressed that the earlier Crysis 2 drop was not their doing but instead a by-product of Steam’s rigid rules that “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.”
EA has also stated that its Origin online store is not a competitor of Steam despite similarly selling games via direct download.
As for Battlefield 3 disappearing from the steamy radar, there’s so far been no word.
While Steam is ubiquitous amongst online gamers, EA does have the potential clout with franchise heavyweights like Mass Effect, FIFA and the latest Battlefield title to sell games without the aid of Steam, though EA still intends to sell its game across digital distributors to give comnsumers “choice.”
Origin has already begun spruiking exclusives to its customers though, including a ‘deluxe edition’ of Mass Effect 3 featuring additional game content.
