Electronic Arts and DICE previously confirmed plans to release the next Battlefield entry in 2021. During a recent earnings call, the publisher narrowed the launch window down to next year’s holiday season. That very same call unveiled another new tidbit, too–Battlefield’s new outing will apparently feature a scale unlike any other in the franchise.
Seeking Alpha relayed a transcript of the call in question, which featured EA CEO Andrew Wilson speaking highly of DICE’s latest work-in-progress. “DICE is creating our next Battlefield game with never before seen scale,” Wilson teased. He also noted internal play-testing is underway and that, thanks to next-gen hardware, DICE has been able to deliver on a remarkable vision.
The technical advancements of the new consoles are allowing the team to deliver a true next-gen vision for the franchise. We have hands-on play-testing underway internally, and the team has been getting very positive feedback on the game as we’ve begun to engage our community. The next Battlefield is set to launch in holiday 2021, we’re excited to share a lot more about the game in the spring.
With regards to whether DICE will meet the projected holiday 2021 launch, Wilson expressed confidence in the team’s ability to deliver on time. The EA executive added, “I was part of the product review last week. We have rallied that entire studio around the development of Battlefield specifically. We’ve given them an extra year of development… to ensure that they can in fact build a true next-gen vision around that game.”
Of course, Battlefield isn’t the only title on EA’s slate of upcoming releases. The next year and change will prove an especially busy time for the publisher, considering there are six titles set to roll out between the start of April 2021 and the end of March 2022. A brand-new Need for Speed installment from the crew at Criterion counts as one, according to Wilson. Battlefield obviously serves as another, while a few of the remaining four are likely EA Sports projects. (It’s possible the long-rumored Mass Effect Trilogy remaster takes up a spot on the list, too.)
[Source: Electronic Arts via Seeking Alpha, Eurogamer]
