EA Games says the next Battlefield game is going to be ‘another tremendous live service’ title after claiming that it had learned some ‘valuable lessons’ from the failures of past games like Battlefield 2042.
That much was said in a recent Q4 2024 earnings call from EA Games. CEO Andrew Wilson assured investors that the next Battlefield game, which is rumoured to be a “reimagination as a truly connected ecosystem“, will be developed by “the largest Battlefield team in franchise history” consisting of not only lead developer DICE but also help from Criterion, Ripple Effect and Dead Space remake studio Motive.
Addressing the criticism levelled at Battlefield 2042 upon release, which launched in an infamously poor state, Wilson said players “made it clear that they wanted an even deeper experience” and that “a few weeks ago, I was visiting with the teams and I couldn’t be more excited about what they showed and what we were able to play.”
Later on in the report, Wilson added that the next Battlefield game “is going to be another tremendous live service.” Given the extremely volatile nature of live service games in the industry today, this response could be seen as a bit tone-deaf, though it’s worth noting that the older Battlefield games – while technically not going the full live service route like Destiny – did feature some lite live service elements that now include battle passes and seasonal content.
It’s safe to assume that the next Battlefield title will also take this approach with battle passes, seasonal content and evolving annual updates. In the past, Battlefield games were designed more closely to Call of Duty, typically featuring an engaging single-player campaign to complement a booming multiplayer space. Battlefield 1 and V featured great campaigns but that was shelved in Battlefield 2042 in favour of an online multiplayer focus.
The franchise is clearly doing its own thing now and we can only wait with bated breath to find out if it will pay off.
Source: PC Gamer
