DICE explains BFBC2 server policy
Claims renting doesn't result in profits.
DICE has told Eurogamer there is "no profit" made from forcing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 players to rent dedicated servers instead of building their own.
Producer Gordon Van Dyke said files the community needs to build dedicated servers are being withheld in order to "protect the game's integrity on PC".
"This does not earn DICE a profit," BFBC2 Van Dyke told us. "But we will see where the game goes and support it post launch."
Right now the only way to host a private dedicated server is by renting from one of DICE's authorised hosts. These, Van Dyke added, have already been picked in "all major regions of the world".
This is a first for the Battlefield series, as Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142 both supported community members building and hosting their own dedicated servers.
DICE had made much of Battlefield: Bad Company 2's dedicated server support after Infinity Ward decided to go peer-to-peer with Modern Warfare 2 on PC.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 goes into PC beta testing later this month, starting 28th January and ending 25th February.
The full game's out on 5th March.