Players got their first look at the new Battlefield on Monday, along with a bit of information on what’s to come.
In an interview with IGN, head and founder of Respawn Vince Zampella revealed that the next Battlefield was inspired by Battlefield 3 and 4 — specifically in terms of its setting. Zampella told IGN that it’ll be set in modern times, as opposed to the most recent game in the franchise, Battlefield 2042.
“I mean, if you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it’s that Battlefield 3 … Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern. And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there. But I think for me, it’s that peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it’s nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even. Those are kind of the heyday … although I would say 1942 also.”
You can see a very small bit of this in concept art shared with IGN. It’s not much, but there is a ton smoke and flames surrounding what looks like a European city. There are some helicopters deep in the background, along with some ships, suggesting that helicopter and ship warfare will return.
This next Battlefield is a huge endeavor for EA, which formed a team within Motive Studio (Dead Space remake) to exclusively focus on Battlefield. EA’s DICE, Criterion, and Ripple Effect Studios (also managed by Zampella) are also working on the new title. Zampella didn’t specify what about the upcoming game would warrant such a huge effort, instead just saying it’ll expand “what Battlefield is.”
EA is course-correcting after Battlefield 2042, which was heavily criticized at its 2021 launch for numerous technical bugs, maps that were too massive, and a specialist system that players said made the game too close to a hero shooter. It eventually found its footing and was able to maintain a steady player base through countless updates — although the first took more than six months to release.
The team appears to be going back to basics for the next Battlefield, throwing away its 128-player maps after player feedback and going back to 64-player ones, which makes the rounds feel smaller and less about roaming around finding enemies.
“Yeah, the 128 player, did it make it more fun? Like … doing the number for the sake of the number doesn’t make any sense,” Zampella said. “I’d rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can’t wait for you to see some of them.”