a lot of people buy this game and can't play it here I give you a few tips to successfully launch the game, keep in mind that this game was designed to be launched through a web browser.

pinned note: to avoid the problem described in tip number 12 you can purchase the game directly on EA App

1) use Chrome of Firefox, other browsers won't work because of their ad-blockers

2) install all the versions of Microsoft C++ software, Battlefield 3 needs the 2010 version to run
you can find an updated list of C++ software version here https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/

Does Punkbuster kick you?
3) check the PINNED technical guide for Punkbuster in the Steam community forum to update Punkbuster otherwise you will be kicked out of Punkbuster-enabled servers.

Here I briefly explain what you need to do
step A) go to evenbalance.com and click on PBSETUP tab on the top of the website and download the Windows 3.8 version, extract the zip file into a folder then run Pbsetup.exe then agree with the terms and in the next window click on "add a game" then select Battlefield 3 in the dropdown menu and hit "add game" then it will update to the latest version then quit the app and keep that folder you may have to update it again.

Step B) you will also need to allow pnkbstrA.exe and pnkbsterB.exe through your firewall.
On windows search bar look for "Firewall and Network protection" open it and then click on "allow an app through firewall" in the next window click on "change settings" then you can click on "allow another app" then click on "browse" and navigate to this path C:\Windows\SysWOW64 and select pnkbstrA.exe and click on "open" then allow it through both private and public networks, repeat the same process for pnkbstrB.exe

you can't seem to find a server with players in it?
4) install the Better Battlelog extension for Battlelog and the True Player count plugin for Better Battlelog so you can see the real player count
Better Battlelog for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/better-battlelog-fix-bblog/
True Player Count Plugin for Better Battlelog https://github.com/Dendari92/bblog-true-players-bf3

for Chromium based browsers you can install this brand new extension which fixes the server browser so that you see how many players there are in a server, this extension does not need Better Battlelog
https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/bf3-battlelog-player-coun/pbciggcfhkkglkfibebcigojfkefkdkk

The reason why the game gets stuck at Joining Server or Loading is mostly because there is a third party software interfering with Battlefield 3
5) kill MSI Afterburner and Rivatuner or any other FPS monitoring program

6) keep your EA App's language as English other languages may cause the game fail to launch

7) make sure both Steam and EA App run in the background or the game sometimes won't launch even though it's possible to launch the game without Steam

8) DO NOT link an EA Account in which you already own a copy of Battlefield 3 you set yourself up for failure as it may trigger "you need to install a patch error" and you may lose your Origin/EA App copy of the game entirely

9) check EA App to make sure it detects your Battlefield 3 copy as an installed game if it doesn't then close EA App and kill all its related programs in the Task Manager then launch Battlefield 3 from Steam this should resolve it

10) on Windows 11 go to the game's folder and right click on BF3.exe and BF3Webhelper.exe then go to properties and set the compatibility mode to Windows 7

11) if you're getting the "you need to install a patch" error the only three working POTENTIAL FIXES I have found are
A) Installing the game in another partition on your hard drive and it may help to delete the License Folder as well as the Battlefield 3 folder under Documents
B) Verifying the game files and running the game from Steam in order to trigger the Punkbuster installation process, this doesn't consistently solve it on the first try so do it a couple times
C) Unlinking your EA Account from your Steam account and creating a new EA account, this error commonly occurs when people already have Battlefield 3 on their EA Account however it may happen on fresh accounts too.
D) Logging out of Battlelog and EA App and logging back in

as the last resort you need to install Origin and run the game once

The patch that the error mentions in the pop-up window is Punkbuster, either EA App or Battlelog fails to detect that you already have Punkbuster, I am currently investigating this issue therefore if you keep getting this error after trying the potential fixes kindly join my discord so we can troubleshoot it together, your case may help me find a solution to this common error.

12) should you encounter the "activation error" or the "product key" error do these two steps first

A) go to this path below and delete the contents of the license folder
C:\ProgramData\Electronic Arts\EA Services\License
then go to this path below and delete the contents of the log folder
C:\ProgramData\Electronic Arts\EA Core\logs
Delete these files from Recycle Bin
RESTART you PC
then try launching the game through EA App

B) should the A step fail try this one
go to veniceunleashed.net and download and the VU launcher then make sure EA App is running and detecting your Steam copy of Battlefield 3 then go to Start Menu and run the Activate Battlefield 3 shortcut

if the two steps mentioned above fail consider changing your PC's name, it is believed to solve this problem, go to Windows Settings > System > About > Rename this PC > click on Change, then repeat the process explained in section 12 step A as a cautionary step

there is a fourth solution to this problem that I'll post it if neither of these two solution work for you.

13) stuck at "initializing" or it crashes at initializing? a potential fix is to delete the config file located in this path : C:\Users\Your Username\Documents\Battlefield 3\settings delete all three files, your settings will be reset to default.

keep in mind that Battlefield 3 does not require administrator privileges so go to the game's folder and right click on both BF3.exe and BFWEBHelper.exe then go to Properties and then Compatibility tab and uncheck/untick the box that says "Run this program as administrator" otherwise you may get all kind of errors including the "Stuck at Initializing"

here's our discord server where I can personally help you play the game, you will make it easier if you hop in Voice Chat and share your screen, here is the Discord Server[discord.gg]

you can also join my Steam group and use the Troubleshoot channel, remember to mention me or I won't notice your message :)
Steam group chat