Surprise! Alice: Madness Returns shows up on Steam after all

What the heck is up with EA and Steam?

What the heck is up with EA and Steam? First they're buddy-buddy, then EA launches Origin (at this point little more than a new coat of paint on the EA Download Store) and games start disappearing off of Steam. EA blames Steam and Valve, Valve says not a lot about anything.

Today, a couple of days after launch, Alice: Madness Returns has popped up on Steamwithout notice - so apparently whatever breech of agreement that resulted in the removal of Crysis 2 from Steam has not prevented EA from putting up new games. EA PR Director Amanda Taggart sent over this not-very-revealing statement:

"EA Partners and Spicy Horse Games appreciate Steam's decision to sell Alice: Madness Returns. The game is also available on several other download services including Amazon, Gamestop and Origin.com."

My personal pet theory is that EA simply wants to own all of the pre-orders on its games, without splitting that sweet, sweet cash with Valve. I expect to see most EA games - including Battlefield 3 - pop up on Steam after launch.