Following the dismal launch of “Battlefield 2042” last year, Electronic Arts are taking a “long perspective” on the Battlefield franchise and “rethinking the development approach.”
Battlefield is one of the video game industry’s finest franchises, according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who claimed during the company’s most recent earnings announcement that it was “developed by one of the great teams [DICE] in our business.” While “Battlefield 2042” may not have lived up to expectations, Wilson believes the franchise will continue to be a “very essential” part of EA’s broader portfolio for “many, many years.”
Wilson stated that the current Battlefield leadership team, which includes Vince Zampella and Marcus Lehto, is “rethinking the development process from the ground up” for Battlefield. The goal of Battlefield’s future development, according to Wilson, will be to “get to the enjoyment as soon as feasible.” As previously stated, Zampella will now oversee the Battlefield brand as a whole, while Lehto, who designed Master Chief and co-created the Halo franchise, will lead a new Battlefield studio in Seattle. EA is attempting to create a “connected universe” for Battlefield.
Wilson stated that the team at DICE is presently concentrating on quality-of-life enhancements and “getting the core game right” for “Battlefield 2042“ and that this effort is still ongoing. Wilson said fans can expect to see EA “invest and build” “Battlefield 2042” beyond where it is now once the studio deems the game’s core is in a solid place.
DICE intends to support “Battlefield 2042” with a series of ongoing live-service upgrades that will include, among other things, new maps and characters. According to rumors, EA may explore making at least a section of “Battlefield 2042” free in order to re-energize the player base.
A new free-to-play Battlefield game could be released in the future, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.
While this is yet unknown, EA is hoping to expand the Battlefield franchise with a free-to-play mobile game that is now in a limited regional beta test. According to Wilson, EA will begin testing for this game at the end of May, and the game might premiere globally by the end of 2022 or early 2023, depending on the testing process. Wilson remarked, “Having played the game, I can tell you that I think we’re enthusiastic about the potential.”
Despite the fact that “Battlefield 2042” didn’t sell as well as EA had hoped, the time in which it was released—Q3 EA’s 2021–was the most profitable in the company’s 40-year history. The Battlefield series accounts for roughly 10% of EA’s total revenue.
Wilson stated that “Battlefield 2042” suffered in part because it was built during COVID and that some of the game’s design choices did not resonate with players.