Battlefield 3 is finally free ... the tyranny of official servers. After five years of growth, Venice Unleashed, or VU, has finally gone public. Mod Reverse-Engineers use Battlefield 3's server code not only for privately hosted servers, but also for creating a platform for each type of mod.

VU allows you to configure dedicated servers, including mod tools, which is a blessing in disguise as Official Battlefield 3 servers have been battling cheats for years. That said, before this you could only own the server via an EA-authorized partner. VU also allows you to host and play dedicated servers for mods such as the community-created reality mode.

The creators of VU claim that VU is completely legal under the EU's operating laws. Use of the mod requires a proper copy of Battlefield 3 and an Origin account, which does not transfer or distribute any EA-owned assets.

VU does not include configuration and decryption options for its personal servers, which also allow a fully-featured viewer system for shooting or hosting games. In the future, VU developers will work on writing content for full custom content, hosting remote server modes, and game-level voice chat on other communications tools.