Battlefield 3 DLC mobilizing on PS3 first

Microsoft has already launched its bid to capture the lion's share of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 players, teaming with Activision to offer timed-exclusive access to add-on content. It's fitting, then, that Sony would be putting its weight behind Modern Warfare 3 rival Battlefield 3, announcing today that all expansions for the EA-published military shooter will debut on the PlayStation 3.

The lines of battle have been drawn.

Beginning with the Back to Karkand add-on, all Battlefield 3 expansion packs will have a one-week timed-exclusivity window on the PS3. Due later this year, the Back to Karkand expansion features multiplayer environments from the PC-exclusive Battlefield 2, such as Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, and the Sharqi Peninsula, all updated for the Frostbite 2 engine.

Yesterday, EA confirmed that a multiplayer beta test for Battlefield 3 will commence on September 29 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Those who preorder the PC edition of the game through EA's digital storefront Origin will be able to get into the action beginning September 27, as will those who preordered the Limited Edition of EA's 2010 military shooter, Medal of Honor. The beta window will close on October 10.

Players will be able to play the game's Rush mode on the Operation Metro map, set in the subways of Paris. The Rush mode has two teams fighting over key strategic points on the map, with one squad designated as attackers and the other ordered to protect the locations.

Battlefield 3--which EA says has been in development for three years--will sport both a single-player campaign and an online component, which can be played with up to 64 players (for the PC version only). It will also support co-op play for its campaign and will let gamers pilot jets, among other vehicles.