Battlefield 3: Premium Edition spotted on Amazon

Battlefield 3 has been one of the most popular FPSes last year. Developer DICE has given great post-launch support to the game in the form of constant balance updates and new DLC. This year, Electronic Arts (EA) had released Battlefield Premium, which is the Battlefield series’ response to Activision’s Call of Duty Elite. The service allows players to get access to a bunch of new features along with access to all future DLC for Battlefield 3. Recently, a retail copy for what appears to be Battlefield 3: Premium Edition was spotted on Amazon.ca.

The listing has no box art or many details about what the Battlefield 3: Premium Edition would be. Our best guess is that the Premium Edition will have a copy of Battlefield 3 along with a subscription to Battlefield Premium. Amazon lists the price as 69.99 CAD (Canadian Dollars), which roughly converts to around Rs. 3,900. It would seem that EA might be ready to make an announcement in Gamescom this year.

Might get a Premium Edition soon

EA had recently confirmed its plans for the release dates of the last two pieces of DLC for Battlefield 3; Aftermath and Endgame. According to an earlier report, Aftermath is all set for a release in December this year while Endgame will see a March 2013 release. Set amongst the shattered districts, streets and surrounding villages of a post-earthquake Tehran, Aftermath depicts a continuing struggle for supremacy and survival amongst devastation. No information about what Endgame will have is known as of yet. Aftermath and Endgame will be available to subscribers of Battlefield 3: Premium, as well as non-subscribers. Though, those subscribed to Premium will be getting access to the DLC two weeks before non-subscribers.

The last DLC released for Battlefield 3 was Close Quarters. It is a themed expansion pack that brings the team play of Battlefield 3 to tight indoor environments. The frantic close quarters infantry combat is amplified by high amounts of environmental damage, thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine. The upcoming DLC, Armored Kill, concentrates on large sprawling maps such as the Bandar Desert and is set to be released in September. The first DLC released for Battlefield 3 was Back to Karkand. The DLC brings back four of the most popular maps from Battlefield 2; Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, Wake Island and Sharqi Peninsula. Back to Karkand also brought ten new weapons into the game. Also introduced into the game were three new vehicles; the SVTOL fighter jet, desert buggy and an APC.

Developer of DICE Jøran Holberg elaborated in a blog post about the studio’s inspiration for Bandar Desert - the biggest map they’ve ever worked on. “Since Iran was a major area of operations in Battlefield 3, it felt natural to get inspiration from there as a first step in creating some maps in 'Xpack 3'. Seeing the desert scenery from the real Bandar Desert area, I really got inspired, and immediately knew we could create something really exciting out of it.” He goes on to state that Bandar Desert supports 64 players and jets. Everything has to be larger and build more on the vehicle gameplay on a grand scale. It also has to be scalable for the console versions of the game, which supports fewer players, without it compromising on the PC version’s 64 player support.