Is Electronic Arts skipping Valve's digital distribution platform when it launches Battlefield 3? That's what some are speculating after EA released a preliminary list of preorder sites for Battlefield 3 over the weekend. Steam was not on the list, leaving many to believe that - at least during the launch window - EA would skip the platform altogether.

It's not beyond the realm of possibility considering that one of its recent games - Alice: Madness Returns - was not available on Steam for pre-order.

EA and Valve have had a few issues since the launch of Origin, EA's own digital distribution platform. The fear is that the company will move away from other digital distribution platforms to support its own, thereby controlling the sales of its games and saving money on any commissions.

We'll continue to follow this story and update when EA officially responds.