Dragon Age II vanishes from Steam

Crysis 2 is a confirmed casualty of EA's ongoing dispute with Valve, after the game was pulled off of the digital distribution platform Steam. With rumors circulating that Battlefield 3 will also be skipping Steam, it appears as if the BioWare-developed Dragon Age II has now been pulled from Valve's online service.

As of this week, Dragon Age II is no longer available on the Steam storefront. It is unclear why the game has been removed from Steam, and EA, BioWare, and Valve had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.

However, perhaps not so coincidentally, today also marks the release of Dragon Age II's latest downloadable add-on, Legacy. When discussing the dispute as it pertained to Crysis 2, EA's David DeMartini objected to Valve's strict control over post-release involvement in a game.

"We take direct responsibility for providing patches, updates, additional content, and other services to our players," DeMartini said, and so insist on being allowed to "establish an ongoing relationship" with customers and contact them to inform them of new patches and available content.

"Unfortunately, if we're not allowed to manage this experience directly and establish a relationship with you, it disrupts our ability to provide the support you expect and deserve," DeMartini continued. "At present, there is only one download service that will not allow this relationship. This is not our choice, and unfortunately it is their customer base that is most impacted by this decision. We are working diligently to find a mutually agreeable solution."

The friction between EA and Valve comes as the Portal 2 creator increases its push into the free-to-play, microtransaction-supported gaming market, both with its own games and third parties. When Valve announced the plan, it required the sale of all in-game items and content to be handled through its Steam Wallet virtual currency program.