Battlefield 3’s "major online issues" are behind it

EA-owned developer DICE has said that it has almost quashed the technical gremlins that have slightly soured the game’s launch over the last week.

Users have reported significant issues connecting to online games via Xbox 360, as well as some early authentication problems for PC gamers thanks to EA’s Origin servers.

But DICE says it will not rest until things are completely as they should be.

"We are happy to report that PS3 and PC players experienced server stability all weekend, and Xbox 360 servers are at 95 per cent and climbing," an EA spokesperson told Kotaku.

"We’ve turned a corner. A small percentage of people are experiencing intermittent volatility which we are addressing. We believe that the major issues are behind us, but our online teams will not be happy until we’re at 100 per cent. We continue to work on solving for each issue."

The spokesperson also explained why the Xbox 360 version of the game, in particular, has been difficult to iron out.

"There are a number of different factors impacting server connectivity on Xbox 360. It is a particularly complex server architecture and we continue to work with Microsoft to improve connectivity. We are gamers, too, and understand how frustrating it is not to be able to play the game without interruption.”

Lest we forget, of course, that Battlefield 3 has proven hugely popular, shattering the series’ sales records in the UK and shipping a colossal 10m units in its first week on sale.

Even for a publisher the size of EA, that’s going to prove a stiff technical challenge.

The game is spectacularly popular," the spokesperson added. "With such huge interest in the game, demand outstripped even our best expectations coming out of the beta. This is an evolving process that we are committed to improving.”