http://www.vg247.com/2011/01/03/battlefield-3-to-drop-support-for-windows-xp/#more-133977

DICE rendering architect Johan Andersson has laid down the law regarding Battlefield 3’s system requirements, and those final pockets of Windows XP resistance are faced with an ultimatum: upgrade, or forget about playing one of the biggest shooters of the decade.

According to Andersson, the series’s new engine is heavily reliant on newer tech.

“Frostbite 2 is primarily developed for DX11. XP & DX9 is _not_ supported, 64-bit OS is recommended,” he tweeted.

This bald statement of fact confirms rumours from way back in 2007, when the prospect of dropping XP seemed much more onerous.

Battlefield 3 is expected whenever the notoriously perfectionist DICE think its finished with it, although EA is aiming for the third or fourth quarter this year.

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Dun dun duuuun. I wonder how many gamers have yet to shift to Windows 7, and how many of those will be pushed over by this.

I hope that it runs better then since I forced Bad Company 2 to DX9 to keep it running very smooth. 

If there's a console version of Battlefield 3, then I'd expect the PC version to look a lot better too since honestly, there didn't seem to be a big difference between Bad Company 2 in DX9,  10 or 11 (aside from better looking lighting though overall the light is always blinding in this game).

so finally a game built on an engine built from the ground up on DX10/11 then, it's about time. 

Didn't know they were releasing BF3 info 

well cant wait to play. Never played BF1942 or BF2 but i have played BC1/2 and liked them alot. 

the best FPS is coming back to take back its crown