In a move no doubt prompted by Microsoft’s close relationship with Activision for Call of Duty DLC, Sony has retaliated by inking a deal with EA and DICE, securing upcoming Battlefield 3 DLC Back to Karkand one week ahead of the competition. All future expansion packs will appear on the platform one week early as well.

DICE product manager Tommy Rydling broke the news over on the official PS Blog:

“But that’s not all for our PlayStation fans! You’ll be happy to know that beginning with our first expansion pack Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand (to be released later this year), all full-blown upcoming expansion packs for the game will appear one week early exclusively on PS3, brought to you by Sony!”

It’s not often that we see Sony making grabs for exclusive DLC, so this is a bit of an unexpected move. The Battlefield 3 open beta kicks off September 29 —  September 27 for those that placed  a pre-order on Origin or have a registered Tier 1 edition of Medal of Honor.

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Read more: Battlefield 3 Origin Pre-Order Nets ‘Early’ Beta Access,  EA Confirms Battlefield 3 Is In Development,  EA Axes Battlefield 1943, Bad Company 2: Onslaught PC,  Battlefield 3 Beta Included with Medal of Honor Limited Edition,  Battlefield 3 Gameplay Surfaces