It’s no secret that EA’s biggest shooter franchise has had a rough time recently. Apex Legends has done surprisingly well, but that’s mostly because it was designed by Respawn Entertainment, without EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine. No shame to Frostbite, as some of the capabilities of the engine for Battlefield games are incredible. But in recent years, Battlefield has seen somewhat of a decline from the mainstream shooter it used to be. Battlefield 6 is said to be the very next entry, and it needs to make a comeb
Battlefield has had an issue in the past with destruction not having any recognizable impact on gameplay. Previous titles like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 used to integrate the capability of destruction into its level design, which is partially what made Bad Company 2 one of the best games in the whole series. Games like Battlefield 3 onward tried to replicate the importance of destruction in different ways, but the “Levolution” mechanics ended up being lackluster in comparison. Alternatively, a higher player density in multiplayer games could make games like Conquest a bit more strategic with squad placements. Any capability to add more players on screen/in the lobby is perfect for Battlefield , which thrives on simulating large-scale warf
One of the defining aspects of Battlefield since the beginning has always been destruction. The mechanics have iterated and changed over the years, but in more recent titles in the franchise, destruction seems to have unintentionally become less important. Games like Bad Company and Battlefield 3 used to employ destruction in a functionally relevant manner, making the mechanic an integral part of the environment design. Playing Rush in Bad Company 2 generally meant blowing holes into M-COM stations to breach and set a charge, or even take the whole building down if that’s more via
That last part might not appeal much to Battlefield fans, not after Battlefield 5 failed to introduce battle royale to the series with its Firestorm mode. Numerous issues, including a slow pace and a bad loot system, resulted in Firestorm being largely dismissed as one of the worst battle royale games out there. Of course, with battle royale being much more prominent now than when BF5 first dropped, there’s always hope that DICE has taken Firestorm’s failure to heart and is focusing more on improving Battlefield ’s battle royale experie
Henderson wouldn’t say if this means DICE will be bringing 64-vs-64 modes to Battlefield 6 as well, but did suggest that EA and DICE are considering putting that increased player count to use in some sort of battle royale, citing “increased interest” from the two due to the success of Call of Duty: Warzo
To do this, Battlefield needs to capitalize on what makes it special , come up with a unique and defining feature, or even both. One major thing that Battlefield still has over every other shooter out there is the sheer destruction the Frostbite engine is capable of. Destructible environments have been a mainstay for the franchise since Bad Company 2 , but it’s become such a non-factor in recent entries. Emphasizing how destruction can change Battlefield ‘s battle royale would be a perfect integration of core mechanics with things like mortar strikes, more vehicles, anything to dial in on the chaos Battlefield does b
Battlefield needs to reinvent its image , and that could be as simple as looking to the past to inspire the future. The Bad Company games in particular would be a good start, as these games never truly took themselves seriously. Even though Bad Company 2 eschewed a lot of the silliness from the first game, multiplayer in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was the right balance of simulation vs. fun factor. Battlefield could definitely use a dose of that nowadays, especially after Battlefield 2042 vehicles|https://battlefield2042hq.com/
On a related note, Henderson briefly touched upon the topic of free-to-play. Lately, it’s becoming more common to see paid games implement some sort of free-to-play extension on the side, such as Call of Duty: Warzone and the multiplayer for Halo Infinite . And with EA and DICE potentially adding a battle royale mode to Battlefield 6 , it led Henderson to wonder, “could EA and DICE be planning a F2P Battlefield experien
If EA manages to impress gamers with the upcoming Battlefield game, and Call of Duty manages to keep its success with Black Ops Cold War , the debate of which FPS game to play could come back to light. Call of Duty will be challenged to keep coming up with more great ideas to keep their fans hooked. Firstly, though, Black Ops Cold War will release first sometime in November. _Battlefield 6 _ doesn’t have an exact release date yet, and won’t be coming out until sometime next year, so they have some time to plan and adjust if need
There are some key aspects throughout Battlefield ‘s history that have contributed to the franchise becoming a bit mediocre. Defining features like destruction are no longer emphasized in a functional manner, while single-player is consistently forced into the experience, despite often being an afterthought for players who love Battlefield ‘s signature multiplayer. Battlefield is having an identity crisis, one that’s not easily solved. Battlefield needs to hone in on what made the series so special in the first place and emphasize t