The disastrous launch of Battlefield 2042 placed the future of the series in peril as EA and DICE worked hard to turn things around ensuring that the franchise will still continue on into the future.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently made a statement promising that Battlefield will return in a "new way." The exec says that he has "extraordinary confidence" in the Battlefield leadership.
"I think we've put together an extraordinary creative leadership team," Wilson said during a recent Q&A with investors. "I had a call this morning with some of the leadership and they're very bullish on how that's progressing. I think we've got extraordinary confidence in that team and extraordinary confidence in the progress they're making against the future of that franchise."
He adds, "As we continue to move through this process and [it] becomes appropriate, we'll share more about the future of Battlefield. But it is firmly implanted in that first pillar of our strategy building games and experiences that attract and entertain massive online communities across platforms, across business models, across geographies. And we think that Battlefield is going to be a meaningful part of our future."
Battlefield 2042 launched with a laundry list of bugs and glitches making the game virtually unplayable. The player base for the game dwindled to a few thousand players as a result of the issues.
EA and DICE slowly worked to improve the game to a point that players have started to return. The first-person shooter has seen a resurgence as of late as Battlefield 2042 was added to Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus.
The company has also since appointed Vince Zampella to lead the development of the Battlefield series. Zampella currently heads Respawn Entertainment and is the co-founder of Infinity Ward.
EA announced last year that three studios will be working on the Battlefield series. DICE will be working on the multiplayer experience for Battlefield. Ridgeline Games, headed by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto, will be working on the single-player campaign for the first-person shooter. The third studio, Ripple Effect, will reportedly work on a different Battlefield game.
The company has not yet announced a new Battlefield game as it continues to support Battlefield 2042. DICE returned to the classic Battlefield experience when it reintroduced the class system to Battlefield 2042. The studio continuously adds new content to the game with each new season.
We're curious to find out what the future holds for the Battlefield series. If there's anything that we can all take away from Battlefield 2042, it's that studios can turn things around by listening to the gaming community. However, we do hope that the next game releases in a state that doesn’t need a massive overhaul.
Battlefield 2042 is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
