Recently, Electronic Arts confirmed that a slew of ‘legacy’ Battlefield titles are about to be delisted from digital storefronts. From July 31, Battlefield 3 (widely considered the best Battlefield game ever), Battlefield 4, and Battlefield: Hardline will be made unpurchaseable on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Then, on November 7, the online services for these games will be shut down forever.
Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 will remain playable on PC only, while Hardline will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC – but even that won’t last forever. Single-player content won’t be impacted by this move.
End of an Era
Battlefield 3 was released in 2011 to an overwhelmingly positive reception, competing effortlessly against Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and serving as what many refer to as ‘peak’ Battlefield. In 2013, Battlefield 4 held its own, and in 2016, the best-selling Battlefield title ever – Battlefield 1 – managed to score some stellar reviews, but Battlefield 3 was something special.
It’s all about to come to an end (almost). On November 7, Battlefield 3 (along with 4 and Hardline) will have its online servers shut down on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. That means that Battlefield 3 will remain playable – for now – exclusively on PC. However, given the inevitable and persistent decline in the number of players booting up the 13-year-old shooter on PC, it’s only a matter of time before Electronic Arts closes down that service too.
This is expected to also impact backwards compatibility – which means you won’t be able to play Battlefield 3 on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Thank you! Don’t know why people look back to 4. BF3 was the peak. BF4 started the slow slide to being a arena shooter in an open world
Give us back Bad Company 2. That was the best game in Battlefield franchise. I cannot understand DICE developed an excellent game in 2010 but in 2022 developed and made a tresh called Battlefield 2042. Disaster. BC2 and BF3 were the peak of these franchise, after BF3 all sequels were disaster. Make us feel better with new Bad Company 3.
I wish they would make anew version which has ideas from bf2 and bf4 in it. That would be awesome and the best online multiplayer game out there.
I’m sorry, but the best Battlefield game of all time is BF2 and it is still being played online almost 20 years.
Battlefield 2 has higher metacritic ratings. The franchise was already declining at 3.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was the best BF they made–on console, anyway. BC2 had completely destructible maps and 3 removed that gameplay mechanics entirely. 3 just added a lot of scopes and a HUD overhaul. It was a fun game, but 3 was the beginning of the end. BC2 was their masterpiece and that’s already been offline for years.
BF2 is the GOAT in my book.
Dangerously close to BF1…
Woooh – for a second there, the Headline made me fear that Battlefield 1 was going dark. LOL