LogInThe Head of Respawn wants to repeat the success of Battlefield 4.
Electronic Arts
We've heard plenty of rumors about the next Battlefield, but EA has finally spilled some beans about what's actually coming. Along with the game's new concept art, the company revealed that Battlefield will return to modern times.
As IGN pointed out, the art seemingly suggests that wildfires and perhaps other natural disasters might be a part of Battlefield as well as ship-to-ship and helicopter combat.
Head of Respawn and Group GM for EA Studios Organization Vince Zampella understandably wants to go back to the days of Battlefield 4, the most popular installment in the series, and the shift to a modern setting is one step in that direction.
"I mean, if you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it's that Battlefield 3... Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern. And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we'll see where it goes from there. But I think for me, it's that peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it's nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even. Those are kind of the heyday...although I would say 1942 also," he told IGN.
This aligns with earlier reports of the next Battlefield going back to the franchise's roots. Other than the setting, it was previously said the game would feature 64-player matches and a 4-class system while revamping the destruction systems.
Zampella confirmed the smaller number of players per map: "Yeah, the 128 player, did it make it more fun? Like...doing the number for the sake of the number doesn't make any sense. We're testing everything around what's the most fun ... So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields."
He also said that specialists will not come back. While he admires the effort put into Battlefield 2042, a game criticized back and forth, apparently, this new approach didn't work, so EA is going back to what was done better.
The next Battlefield will be one of the "most ambitious projects in [EA's] history," according to EA"s CEO Andrew Wilson, but Zampella didn't elaborate much on that:
"Yeah, it's definitely betting bigger on Battlefield. It's going in and expanding what Battlefield is. We have to have the core. The core Battlefield players know what they want. ... We need to earn their trust back and get them back on our side. And then it's expanding out and getting more players into the universe and seeing what we can do, so when you want a different experience, you don't have to leave Battlefield. You can experience more things within the Battlefield universe. So we're expanding the offerings that we're giving."
There is no release day for the next Battlefield yet, but EA is "playtesting the game every week" and wants to launch a community program next year. Earlier reports suggested October 2025 could be the window, but it's too early to say.
Meanwhile, there is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Battlefield's main competitor, coming out on October 25, 2024. The game is set during the Gulf War, and, no, it won't show the events of 9/11, despite some fans' predictions.
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