Battlefield 3™

Battlefield 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the twelfth installment in the Battlefield series and a sequel to Battlefield 2 (2005). The game was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2011. The campaign takes place in various locations and follows the stories of two characters, Henry Blackburn, a U.S. Marine and Dimitri Mayakovsky, a Spetsnaz GRU operative. Development on the game began in 2009 after the release of Battlefield 1943. DICE employed an upgraded version of the Frostbite game engine to present realistic and engaging graphics. An open beta was presented forty-eight hours before it was released to gamers who pre-ordered Medal of Honor Limited Edition. Following its announcement, Battlefield 3 received much anticipation and hype. The game received mostly positive reviews from critics who praised its multiplayer and graphics, but criticized the campaign and cooperative modes. It sold 5 million copies in its first week of release, becoming one of the biggest launch titles of 2011. The game's sequel, Battlefield 4, was released in 2013.