DICE today announced that Battlefield 3 is now available at retail stores in North America. With close to 3 million pre-sales, Battlefield 3 is the biggest first-person shooter launch in the company's history.

Battlefield 3 uses the new Frostbite 2 game engine to provide players with a modern day shooter that looks good, offers advanced physics and destructible environments. As is the case with most Battlefield games, multiplayer is the focal point of DICE's latest title, with teams of soldiers or enemy combatants going at it in various game modes in coop and online against friends or strangers using a variety of weapons and vehicles to get the job done.

The game also features Battlelog, the Battlefield social network service which allows fans old and new to stay connected as they play.

To accompany the game, Orion Publishing will release a novel called Battlefield 3: The Russian written by the decorated ex-SAS operator and best-selling author of Bravo Two Zero, Andy McNab, with co-author Peter Grimsdale. McNab worked with the creative team at DICE to ensure the authenticity of today’s warfare is experienced in the single player, co-op and multiplayer campaigns.

Battlefield 3 is available now in North America and will be available in Europe on October 27 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Battlefield 3 is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB.