Update: EA’s released a statement on the matter, saying it had no involvement in the axing of Crysis 2 on Steam. We’re told it was a licensing conflict between Valve and Crytek. Specific details on that remain unknown. Additionally, the ‘Only On Origin’ button has been changed to ‘Buy Now On Origin’ to reflect this.

It’s unfortunate that Steam has removed Crysis 2 from their service. This was not an EA decision or the result of any action by EA. Steam has imposed a set of business terms for developers hoping to sell content on that service – many of which are not imposed by other online game services. Unfortunately, Crytek has an agreement with another download service which violates the new rules from Steam and resulted in its expulsion of Crysis 2 from Steam. Crysis 2 continues to be available on several other download services including Origin.com.

The digital distribution wars just got personal for EA: they’ve pulled Crysis 2 from the Steam store. It’s now available on the company’s Origin service, labeled as an exclusive offering.

Despite this, as of writing, the title is still available on Direct2Drive, Impulse, and GamersGate. However, it’s possible that EA is still in the process of cutting ties with other services.

While the jury is still out on whether this exclusivity will apply to all of EA’s digital offerings going forward, it’s a likely bet, as BioWare recently confirmed that its upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic will be an Origin exclusive. Moreover, today’s release of Alice: Madness Returns is nowhere to be found on Steam.

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