EA's next Battlefield game will feature a modern setting, classes, and smaller maps

by Danny Craig · 9/17/24, 12:30 PM
EA's next Battlefield game will feature a modern setting, classes, and smaller maps
Electronic Arts

EA has revealed some of the first details about the next entry in the Battlefield franchise, and it appears that the company intends to directly address many fan complaints following the poorly received release of Battlefield 2042.

The details:

  • In a recent interview with IGN, Respawn co-founder and Battlefield head Vince Zampella confirmed that the next Battlefield game will take place in a modern setting, after its recent entries were set in the past or future. "If you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it's that Battlefield 3... Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern,” Zampella said. “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."

  • Zampella went on to suggest that the game may abandon the larger 128-player battles introduced in 2042 in favor of smaller, more focused 64-player servers found in the franchise's older titles. "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 explained. “We're testing everything around what's the most fun. So like you said, the maps, once they get to a certain scale, become different. It's a different play space, and I think you have to design around that. So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields. I'd rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces.”

  • It was also confirmed that the widely criticized specialist system of 2042 will not be returning. The attempt to replace the traditional class system drew so much criticism that DICE attempted to "fix" the problem by removing the ability to choose any character, but remnants of the original specialists can still be found in the game. ​​"It didn't work. It didn't fit," said Zampella. "Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we're going back to that.”

  • While no release date has been announced, Zampella has stated that a community program will be put in place next year, allowing some players to test the game. It's unknown if this will be in the form of a closed alpha or beta, or if it plans to create a test environment similar to past Battlefield games.

  • The next Battlefield is shaping up to be the biggest yet, with EA studios Criteron, Motive, and Ripple Effect collaborating with DICE on the title. Earlier this year, EA CEO Andrew Wilson stated that it is "the largest Battlefield team in franchise history," while also confirming that it will be a live-service release.

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