Source: A Develop report, which sources wealth management firm Baird's report on a discussion held with GameStop executives.
What we heard: Two weeks ago, Electronic Arts pulled Crysis 2 from Valve's digital distribution store Steam, saying Valve would not allow EA to "establish an ongoing relationship" with users the way in wanted to. Now, it appears as if EA's anticipated modern military shooter Battlefield 3 won't be available on the digital distribution service, either.
According to Develop, wealth management firm Baird met with GameStop's management and offered the following report of what was said: "The upcoming EA title Battlefield 3 will be sold as a download through GameStop, but not through Steam." Baird has since reportedly confirmed with Develop that this quote came directly from a GameStop executive.
Baird's report goes on to claim Steam's "dominance" in the PC market, as well as its "insistence on users downloading [the] Steam client," are reasons why publishers would move away from Steam.
The news comes in the wake of EA recently opening its own digital distribution shop, Origin. The new download and retail hub competes directly with Steam and offers digital and boxed copies of EA games.
The official story: As of press time, neither EA nor Valve had responded to GameSpot's request for comment.
Bogus or not bogus?: Tough to say at the moment. It depends what EA wants more: a direct line of communication to all its customers, or access to Steam's 30 million users.
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