EA Wants to Release a New Battlefield Game Every Year In the Next 5-6 Years
It appears that EA may be going all in with the Battlefield franchise, as it has been reported that the publisher is working to ensure it can release a new game every year, at some point in the future.
With three studios working on the franchise, the hope is that they’ll be able to cycle through development, which is what Activision has done with the Call of Duty brand.
However, don’t expect this anytime soon, based on the info shared.
EA Wants to Annualize Battlefield Like Call of Duty
The news (via Battlefield Wire) comes from industry analyst Michael Pachter, who says he’s spoken to Byron Beede, the General Manager of the Battlefield franchise. This was revealed during the latest episode of Patcher Factor, where Michael Patcher claims that EA is working on getting the franchise annualized, though we wouldn’t see that happen for at least 5-6 years. Patcher notes that EA plans to have three studios working on the Battlefield franchise simultaneously, each developing its own game, with the studios cycling in and out over three years. It’s important to note that EA itself has not officially confirmed this, and we are only going off the word of Michael Patcher, so take this with a grain of salt for the time being.
No doubt many of you are already looking at this and thinking about the Call of Duty franchise, which currently runs on a similar development and release cycle. Whether or not EA could achieve that is a matter of debate. The Call of Duty model, while incredibly successful financially, has often been criticized for leading to franchise fatigue and a perceived lack of innovation. The yearly release schedule, with different studios taking the lead each time, has resulted in some games feeling more polished and complete than others.
For Battlefield, a franchise known for its large-scale, intricate, and often ambitious experiences, an annual release cycle could be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it could provide a consistent stream of new content to keep players engaged and happy. On the other hand, the pressure to meet a yearly deadline could lead to rushed development, a lack of cohesive vision, and a general decline in the quality that fans expect from the series. After the rocky launch of Battlefield 2042, many fans would likely prefer a longer, more deliberate development cycle to ensure a level of quality has been reached.
It goes without saying that even under the current dev cycle, DICE hasn’t exactly been known for its polished release. Nearly every Battlefield game has been plagued with issues at launch, with it taking several months, and even years, to fix.
If EA is indeed pursuing this route, it’ll need to ensure that the level of quality remains at an all-time high; otherwise, the franchise may find itself in deeper trouble than it was with Battlefield 2042.
Again, take this as a rumor. Personally, I don’t think this is the way to go. The series already struggles with quality as is, and this may end up pushing it closer to its demise. Only time will tell, and for now, let’s focus on what’s coming next, which is Battlefield 6 due out this October 10 on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
In other Battlefield 6 news, while beta players might have concerns about the maps shown off during the weekend tests, a recent leak has shown a few maps that are of much larger-scale that significantly dwarfs Siege of Cairo.
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