Fans of Electronic Arts" Battlefield military shooter game series got some news today about the next entry in the franchise. IGN is reporting that the untitled game will be set in the present day, and it also posted the first public concept artwork from that game.
The published concept art, which is partially obscured by the game"s logo, does show elements like naval engagements. There also appears to be a wildfire in progress. IGN speculates that could mean natural disasters could be a part of the new Battlefield game.
IGN also interviewed Vince Zampella, the head of EA"s Respawn Entertainment who also serves as the Group General Manager for EA Studios. He indicated that after releasing games set in World War I, World War II, and in the near future for the last game in the series (Battlefield 2042) the decision was made to go back to the modern-day setting. He added:
I think for me, it"s that peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it"s nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even.
Zampella added that the next game in the series will support up to 64 players in online matches and that it will not have the Specialist characters like in Battlefield 2024.
In February, EA Entertainment President Laura Miele stated that the company now has "the largest Battlefield team in the franchise"s history." Four internal EA teams (DICE, Motive, Ripple Effect, and Criterion) are confirmed to be working on the next game in the series.
There"s no word on a release date for the game yet. However, Zampella did confirm there will be some kind of community program for the upcoming game that will begin sometime in 2025. He stated the team wants to "get the community back on our side, get that trust back."