Wedbush Securities Analyst Michael Pachter, who made some bold predictions yesterday, originally claimed today that Criterion Games (of Burnout fame) would be developing a “military shooter” for fiscal year 2015 (which ends March 31st, 2015) that could be a part of the Battlefield franchise.
After that report surfaced, Pachter contacted Eurogamer and let them know he now thinks Visceral Games (Dead Space franchise) is doing it instead. Considering how Criterion Games is down to 17 people, and there’s no word on another Dead Space title, Visceral would make much more sense, though they may also be doing a Star Wars game.
What made Pachter make this claim of a new Battlefield/military shooter stems from a conversation with management yesterday, as Pachter says:
We spoke with management on Thursday afternoon, and although they have not yet announced a version of Battlefield for FY15, they confirmed that our understanding is spot on and that if a version of Battlefield were to be released in FY15, it would be developed by a studio other than DICE.
He also talked a little about DICE and their projects (via Videogamer):
DICE is responsible for Battlefield 4 and the patch, and DICE’s two studios (in Stockholm and London) are currently working on Mirror’s Edge 2 (announced at E3 and likely a FY:16 release) and Star Wars Battlefront (announced at E3, and possibly a FY:17 release).
As well, a 3D Modelling Artist at Technicolor lists a Battlefield game for 2014 in their LinkedIn profile
While EA has declined to comment on this rumor, Alex Ward of Criterion did say he’s “not in a position to comment,” but “things are not always what they seem.”
What do you think of this rumor? Let us know in the comments below.
