In case you didn’t know, DICE has announced that Battlefield 5, which is the most recent Battlefield game, is getting its last content drop later this year. With that in mind, some might be wondering how development on the next Battlefield game is going amid the on-going COVID-19 pandemic — something DICE has acknowledged that it has accepted now by working from home.
During EA’s quarterly earnings call earlier today, EA was asked by Matthew Thornton of SunTrust whether the publisher can talk about the next Battlefield title being pushed back to fiscal year 2022.
Matthew Thornton: Hey Andrew, hey Blake. Thanks for taking the questions. Maybe two if I could. You guys have talked a little bit about Battlefield, being pushed out to fiscal ‘22. Wonder if you could maybe just give us any other color or comments or thoughts on other kind of pipeline projects as we look out in the out years.
Andrew Wilson (EA CEO):First, I would say, Battlefield is progressing very, very well. We’re excited by what the team’s doing. And again, in the context of the work-at-home environment that had been truly inspirational and how that continued to develop great entertainment in the context of our Battlefield universe. So, I’m excited for when next year comes.
In the same earnings call, Wilson talked about the publisher’s annualized releases such as sports games, and how titles like Battlefield and Dragon Age are titles that launch on a “multi-year basis.”
And so, as we think about our broader portfolio, you’ll continue to see us launch games on an annualized basis. Our sports games would be a good example there. You will continue to see us launch games on a multiyear basis, things like Battlefield or some of our titles out of Dragon Age would be a good example of that. You’ll continue to see us think about games on a five and six-year time horizon. The Sims which launched the game over five years ago and continues to grow every year through extra content live services would be an example of that. And then, you’ll see us launch true platform games, like Apex Legends, which we expect will have — continue to grow over the next decade. – Andrew Wilson, EA CEO
While Battlefield 5 fans might be sad at how the game turned out, at least we can take comfort in the fact that the next Battlefield game is developing quite nicely, no? At least according to EA.
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They’re going to have to come out of the gate with something on par with BF3 or Bad Company 2. (Or Bad Company 3 – without ruining it.)
Between the garbage that was BF4 and everything up until now? They have A LOT to make up for.
No matter how crap bf4 was it still craps on cod
It was ‘ok’ after all the patches to fix all the bugs. New maps sucked and segregated everyone. Still played a lot better than COD. Especially at the time.
My kingdom for a comment that’s RELEVANT.
I have very little confidence. The focus on graphical prowess absolutely killed it for me. BC2 was killer. 3, functioned… After a lot of patches. 4 had the same God damn issue. Hardline was ass Supreme and a slap in the face to Visceral forcing them to do it (EA), causing their closure. 1 didn’t have any balance, maps were thoroughly forgettable. V was revionist SJW crap.
I’m out. I don’t trust you to get it right. Anything you say is probably a lie or a lie by omission.
Destruction will continue to be next to meaningless or become set piece crap like 4. Gunplay took a turn for the worse in V, has absolutely no weight to anything. Vehicles continue to run roughshod over infantry with comically bad access to fight back. Full, legitimately balanced matches start to finish are rare thanks to the awful server browsers. I know I’m not alone in this. Shooter fans just don’t have faith in what you’re going to do next. I expect a sequel to an entry everyone liked or a setting they haven’t done before, both will be paper thin.