Last June EA abruptly pulled Crysis 2 and several other of its titles from Steam's digital download service. As you can imagine, Steam faithfuls (like me) who didn't want to deal with EA's obtuse, ham-fisted Origin service were rather unhappy about the removals. Well Crysis 2 is back on Steam for $39.99, with a whole bunch of extra features in tow. According to
Gamespot, EA said that changes implemented by Crytek in the new
Crysis 2 Maximum Edition "have brought the game in compliance with Steam's terms of service," whatever that means.
Personally I think EA was just trying to compete with Steam, forcing customers to buy their games from the freshly launched Origin instead of an established but nonetheless competing digital service. This is not a wise course of action considering Valve practically invented the modern digital retail platform and Steam is a lot easier and friendlier than Origin ever was, not to mention it's been around far longer. Valve just treats its paying customers better, and that's why a huge percentage of studios and publishers make their product available on the Steam service.
Could EA finally be relenting and is Crysis 2 a sign of more games to come, or is it just a one-off? For now, EA isn't saying anything specific. I'll say this: I'm predominantly a PC gamer, and Origin is the sole reason why I still haven't whipped out my credit card for Battlefield 3, Dragon Age II and Mass Effect 3.
