Several months ago, in an interview with GamerZines, Patrick Bach eluded to the fact that Battlefield 3 will have an online pass-esque system in place for used copies. He refrained from calling it an online pass. Patrick explained “I don’t think it’s an online pass, I think it’s our own backend. I’m not sure I want to call our system an online pass.”

Today, Alan Kertz, DICE’s Core Gameplay Designer, was asked by a fan, “do you need to buy a new battlefield 3 to play xbox live?” Alan responded “you can also purchase an online pass for a used copy.” It’s worth noting that Battlefield  Bad Company 2 had a “VIP” pass, which gives players full access to all maps. Second hand buyers have to buy the VIP pass to have access to all maps. We still don’t know if the new online pass for Battlefield 3 will lock out some maps, or if it is a traditional online pass. Traditional online passes require player who have purchased a used copy of the game to pay about $10 to have online access.

Update: Alan explained why Battlefield 3 will have an online pass by saying “because servers cost money, and used games don’t make developers any money.”

This move by EA shouldn’t come as a surprise since the publisher has been pushing this system, in one form or another, in many of its games.

Where do you stand on the online passes issue? Please let us know in the comments’ section.

Make sure to check out our Top 15 Tips To Improve Your Battlefield Game and check out DICE’s latest Battlefield 3 Trailer Showcasing Destruction.

Don’t forget to follow @MPFirst on Twitter for the latest Battlefield 3 news!