DICE, Swedish developer of Battlefield 3, has told PC gamers they face Origin account bans should they play the game on unofficial servers - resulting in any other EA games linked to their profile being rendered unplayable. Battlefield 3's server files were leaked last week, allowing users to create their own unofficial game servers with different properties to those in the beta. One, for example, increases the maximum player count on Operation Métro, the beta's sole multiplayer map, from 32 to over 100.
In a post on the Battlelog forums, user Bazajaytee - an associate producer at DICE according to his EA profile - warns that those that play on unofficial servers are at risk of having their Origin accounts banned.
"We are aware that a number of servers have appeared and are running game modes and player counts that have not currently been seen," he writes. "Please try to remain on official servers.
"Please avoid temptation and remain on these official servers while we work to have these servers dealt with. Playing on those servers can cause your account to become compromised, stats to be altered or other issues to arise which may lead to having your account banned by EA.
"If your account gets banned it does mean any EA game you have on your account would also be unavailable."