Ahead of the 17th September Investor Day, game studio EA has provided latest information about the untitled Battlefield game while unveiling a concept art.
The game studio revealed its concept art to IGN exclusively for the first time, and it was confirmed that the Battlefield will return to a modern setting.
However, EA has not been very open about specific details of the concept art. For instance, it hasn’t been confirmed which city/country the new game will be set in. However, at an initial glance, it resembles Italy, France, or another European nation.
Besides that, the concept art does indicate that helicopter and ship-to-ship combat will be a major feature of the new game. Along with that, it will also feature natural disasters such as wildfires.
Battlefield concept art revealed to IGN by EA (Source: IGN) Battlefield is going back to its basics
Based on the concept art, it appears that the game is now going back to its basic roots. With regards to these reveals, Vince Zampella, the Head of Respawn & Group GM for EA gave a shout-out to Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4.
“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 the game is and do that amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there.” – Vince Zampella told IGN
Battlefield 2042 featured specialist characters that made the game look like a hero shooter, resulting in the franchise swaying away from its original roots. Not only that, but players were not very appreciative of the 128-player map either.
“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.” – Vince Zampella further added.
What’s next for Battlefield?
While the game has gone lower in popularity, the Call of Duty franchise continues to do relatively well. Activision Blizzard is already planning on releasing the next Black Ops 6 installment.
Regarding this, IGN asked Vince if the game will ever outsell COD. Vince mentioned that the best Battlefield installments in the past have outsold certain Call of Duty titles, and also the other way around.
It is currently not confirmed when the next installment of the game will be released. However, signs from EA point to 2025, especially since the production began with full force earlier in 2024. Zampella has already mentioned that EA is testing the game on a weekly basis, and plans on launching a community program in the coming year. However, it wasn’t made clear whether this will be a closed beta.
As for the consoles, Sony has recently announced the PS5 Pro and there are rumors of a next-gen Xbox hitting the markets too. Hence, the new game is expected to test the limits of these new and upcoming consoles.
It was broadly implied that along with the PS5 Pro, EA will also target the unannounced Switch 2. Regarding the Switch 2 console, Vince mentioned that even though the console has not been announced, Nintendo remains a “great partner” for EA along with Sony and Microsoft.