The Battlefield series, while not as popular as Call of Duty, is still a well-regarded first-person shooter (FPS) franchise with fans all over the world. Dissimilar to Call of Duty in that it is not an annual franchise that releases a game, it’s been almost two years since the last game, which was Battlefield 2042.
Also read: Call of Duty vs. Battlefield – Which Franchise is Worth More?
It’s a well-known and highly publicized fact that Battlefield 2042 failed to meet developer DICE and Publisher EA’s expectations, whether it be commercially or critically. Most crucially, it was panned by the majority of the player community for several reasons. Recently, EA hinted at the direction the next game could take, and while it isn’t concrete information, it allows fans to theorize about what the game will be like.
What did EA have to say about the next Battlefield game?
As revealed during an EA earnings briefing, the CEO of the company, Andrew Wilson, said that the upcoming game in the franchise will be a “reimagination of Battlefield”. He also hinted at a “truly connected ecosystem”, though what that means isn’t quite clear yet. However, that hasn’t stopped the fans from speculating. In May of this year, Wilson had been quoted saying that Battlefield would return in an “entirely new way”.
Also read: 5 Things Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Needs to Do to Not Become the Next Battlefield 2042
There are several Battlefield-related projects in the pipeline at EA, such as DICE working on another multiplayer system, and there’s also a single-player campaign from a new studio formed by Marcus Lehto, who counts the popular Halo games amongst his credits. Lastly, an “entirely new Battlefield experience” is being produced by Ripple Effect, yet another Battlefield studio. EA said that this new experience would serve to “complement and build upon the series’ foundations”. Commenting on this new joint venture between the three gaming studios, EA had the following to say:
“A global effort has been launched, coordinating multiple studios under a leadership team of industry veterans to build a connected Battlefield universe”.
Why did Battlefield 2042 fail to meet expectations?
As mentioned earlier, Battlefield 2042 wasn’t a success with players and critics both owing to several reasons. These reasons include but aren’t limited to several bugs and glitches, absent features from previous games in the series, and contentious changes to some gameplay mechanics. Additionally, the introduction of some Christmas holiday-themed cosmetic items angered several players, who felt that light-heartedness and Santa Claus did not belong in a series as dark and mature as Battlefield.
All of these factors, and some others, put together made Battlefield 2042 one of the worst-reviewed games on Steam, and the number of active players dropped drastically very quickly.
Source: Gamespot
