A new Battlefield game is coming. Developer DICE makes it very clear that they want to avoid another fiasco like 2042.
While most gamers are now preoccupied with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, major competitor DICE suddenly made themselves heard: a new Battlefield is coming.
At least we hope so. Because we didn’t get more than a chaotic trailer. Still, we can glean quite a bit of info about the next Battlefield game. Here’s what to expect.
No repeat of Battlefield 2042
If Battlefield developer DICE has learned anything from the previous games, it’s that they shouldn’t do it again like they did with Battlefield 2042. The game had a particularly messy start with bad servers and not a whole lot of content. Well most of that has been fixed, but the game still lacks “something” according to many fans.
Battlefield 2042 is different from its predecessors in many ways. It introduced – like previous Call of Duty’s – specialists, instead of the standard class system. Also, the game had a nitty-gritty pace that was very reminiscent of how Call of Duty plays. Added to that was a player limit of 128, which made the unpolished whole just too chaotic.
That’s why many fans are reaching back to the previous parts, such as Battlefield V and Battlefield 1 and even Battlefield 3 and 4. According to Dice, there is good news for those fans. Battlefield 6 should return to what made the latter two successful.
Back to the good old days
So Battlefield’s reputation is hanging by a thread. Should the next installment in the series flop, it could just be the end of the otherwise beloved franchise. DICE previously revealed that they are going back to their old formula for success.
That means a player maximum of 64 per game and no more specialists, but instead the old class system from Battlefield 3. We are also returning to the current modern era in terms of setting, just like Battlefield 3 and 4.
(image: DICE)
And who is going to develop it? That’s another interesting story, as there are as many as four different game studios working on the sequel at the same time. DICE has not ruled out that that could become more as the production process progresses.
Four studios are working on Battlefield 6
So there are a lot of different teams working on the new game. DICE itself is in charge of multiplayer, the biggest selling point of the Battlefield games. EA Motive, known for the Dead Space Remake, is handling the game’s story mode.
Then there is Criterion Games, which brought us the many Need for Speed games. This studio is something of a flying tipper, working on both multiplayer and story mode. A fourth studio is working on “a completely new Battlefield experience,” according to DICE.
That studio is called Ripple Effect. They are the creative mastermind behind the Medal of Honor games. These shooting games had long matched the quality of Call of Duty and Battlefield. Only since the last installment, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (2020), nothing new has appeared.
Battlefield 6 needs fans’ help
Earlier this week, a chaotic teaser for Battlefield 6 appeared. In this short clip, we saw lots of explosions and typical Battlefield scenes such as collapsing buildings and running soldiers. It looked like gameplay from one of the previous games, but was obviously a bit newer graphically.
With that trailer also came the info that DICE is calling on its fans to help develop Battlefield 6. They plan to do this with intensive “community testing” in so-called “labs. Gamers can sign up for these and play trial versions of the game. With the feedback DICE gets, they hope to avoid a repeat of 2042.
This testing phase should begin in early 2025, according to DICE. When we then release the full game is not yet clear. That could just be toward the end of the year. The game is expected to appear on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Windows.
