Battlefield players have had a reasonably tough time with the franchise these past few years. 2018’s Battlefield V launch was a disaster, but 2021’s Battlefield 2042 was worse, pushing a lot of Battlefield fans away from the franchise. But now, with just a year until the next major installment in the Battlefield universe set to release, EA and DICE have a lot of making up to do.
Officially, EA has said all of the usual buzzwords you’d come to expect in its financial calls to promote the next game from “innovation” to “groundbreaking.” An interview with IGN earlier this year with head honcho Vince Zempella confirmed Insider Gaming’s past reports that the franchise was taking a “back to its roots approach” with 64 players, all-out destruction, and a modern setting. It all looks promising on paper, yet the scars of the past still burn today with its community, and fans of the franchise are still apprehensive about the future. Considering the franchise’s last two blunders, it’s understandable, but this time, EA and DICE seem to be all-in on ensuring it doesn’t happen a third time.
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On a funding front, the next Battlefield has the most resources in the franchise’s history. Four studios are currently working on Battlefield: DICE, Motive, Criterion Games, and Ripple Effect. More importantly, EA and its studios seem more interested in gaining player feedback this time around. Of course, it’s not uncommon for games to have playtests during development. Almost every game has them at one point or another, but this time around, things are a lot different.
Sources say that playtests with external players are happening much more frequently than in past installments, and the amount of data and feedback collected is the most the franchise has seen in its history. From small feedback sessions to large-scale player tests, Battlefield is now taking the much-needed “player first” approach. It’s an approach that we’ll see continued to be played out coming to the start of the year, too, as it’s understood that EA and its studios have been eying up the return of the Battlefield Community Test Environment, but to what scale that’s incorporated at this time is unclear.
All in all, Battlefield seems to be trying to mend the mistakes it’s made, and with a return to a modern military shooter with destruction, four classes, and 64-player battles, EA could have a win on its hands. That being said, we’re still a year-ish from release and things can change, but so far at least, Battlefield could be back.
If you have any questions on the next Battlefield game, please create a thread on the Insider Gaming forum, and I’ll answer them throughout the next couple of days.
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