EA's Next Battlefield Game: A Return to Form

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that the next installment in the Battlefield franchise is slated for release sometime between April 2025 and March 2026, falling within their fiscal year 2026. This announcement came alongside the unveiling of Battlefield Labs, a new player testing initiative designed to gather feedback during the game's development.

This initiative, along with the formation of Battlefield Studios—a collaborative effort between DICE, Motive, Ripple Effect, and Criterion—marks a significant investment in the franchise's future. Each studio is taking on specific development roles:

• DICE (Stockholm): Multiplayer development.
• Motive: Single-player missions and multiplayer maps.
• Ripple Effect: Attracting new players to the franchise.
• Criterion: Single-player campaign.

EA emphasizes the importance of player feedback during this "critical" development phase. Battlefield Labs will allow for extensive testing, focusing on core gameplay elements such as combat, destruction, weapons, vehicles, gadgets, maps, modes, and squad play. Classic modes like Conquest and Breakthrough will be tested, alongside explorations of new ideas and refinements to the class system. Participants will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

This new Battlefield game represents a course correction after the mixed reception of Battlefield 2042. The game will return to a modern setting, drawing inspiration from the popular Battlefield 3 and 4 era, abandoning the Specialist system and the 128-player maps in favor of a more focused 64-player experience. Concept art suggests the inclusion of ship-to-ship and helicopter combat, as well as natural disaster elements.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has described the project as one of EA's "most ambitious," highlighting the significant resources dedicated to its development. The aim is to recapture the trust of core Battlefield players while expanding the franchise's appeal to a wider audience. Specific platforms and the official title remain unannounced.

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