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Battlefield fans burnt by 2042's near-future backdrop will be pleased to know the next entry will return to a modern setting for the first time since 2013's Battlefield 4. Respawn Group Head and EA Studios general manager Vince Zampella sat down with IGN for an exclusive chat and revealed the first piece of concept art for the revival, which may or may not simply be called "Battlefield".
17th September is Investor Day for EA, hence the concept art, but there are some interesting tidbits to be gleaned. The massive publisher/developer was elusive in terms of specifics, like the name of the seemingly European city featured in the image. Still, there is good news, at least if your shooter tastes align with our own: Specialists are out, and classes are back in, with matches of 64 players (down from 128) on more focused and thoughtfully designed maps. Zampella explains:
"Yeah, the 128 player, did it make it more fun? Like...doing the number for the sake of the number doesn't make any sense. We're testing everything around what's the most fun. So, like you said, the maps, once they get to a certain scale, become different. It's a different play space, and I think you have to design around that. So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields. I'd rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces."
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Distancing himself from the dumpster fire that was Battlefield 2042 at launch, Zampella is signalling a return to "the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it's that Battlefield 3... Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern", which are words in sequences that please us. And also, 2042 was definitely not on him: "So I wasn't there for 2042. I don't know what the rationale was, but for me, it's like the team tried something new. You have to applaud that effort. Not everybody liked it, but you got to try things. It didn't work. It didn't fit. Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we're going back to that."
Does a return to a modern setting sound good to you? Are you willing to forgive and forget and roll the dice on the next Battlefield at launch? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source ign.com]
Comments 33
128 players wasn’t the problem, maps that made it feel like there was a lot less players than 64 player matches in previous games were the problem.
Not being Battlefield was the problem. I’d love to see 128 players again done in a Battlefield game.
BOOOORRRINNNGGGG. Let's have a Battlefield set in the medieval times instead, EA, or your company will never financially recover.
I'm glad Zampella is in charge of it now, but it's EA so I will remove any expectations until the full release. I hope they just replicate Battlefield 3 which is the GOAT
@HotGoomba
Take a shooter franchise, and put it in a setting with...no guns? What?
In my mind BF was always the more realistic and down-to-earth of the big military shooters. That's what set them apart from the rest. It boggles the mind that you wouldn't lean into the thing your fanbase love you for instead of chasing trends.
I get that they want to expand the player base, but quirky Specilists and stupid gameplay decisions ain't it.
Taking a timeout and revisit what made BF2/BF3/BF4 so popular in the first place sounds like a good start to me.
But we'll see if they can back up those words with actions. 🤷♂️
@HotGoomba Boring? why?
I don't want to be hyped, but I really hope we get something good, after all, it's Vince Zampella.
It's EA so it will be half the game day 1 and then 3 or 4 months down the line you'll get the rest of the game you paid for under the old "new update and improvements" headline...I'll wait and see this time round.
for me battlefield 1 is the best then bad company 2
I enjoyed 2042 via PS Plus. Perfectly fine bog-standard shooter, better than Battlefield V. Future settings are much more interesting than the present when executed well, but DICE really didn't manage to spin a good yarn in 2042.
This needs to be good, cause COD is way stale and silly with Snoop Dogg Skins. Seeing Snoop and others in a military shooter is just odd and distracting. I’m hopeful they get this right. I would prefer to play BF over COD.
No one cared that your game wasn't "modern" as proven by the fact that Battlefield 1 sold like hot cakes.
The problem came predominantly from your TERRIBLE creative decisions. From the mediocre like Hardline, to the agenda driven slop that was Battlefield V, to the broken farce that was 2042.
But perhaps your biggest mistake of all? Using the phrase "If you don't like it don't buy it" to millions of disgruntled customers. Because not only did they take that advice in droves but many of them never came back again afterwards.
@PegasusActual93 his comments are hilarious lol
Didn't these guys have a woman with a prosthetic arm leading a squad in world war 2?
I really enjoyed BF1 and then BFV which I still play on PC. I love a WW2 shooter. It’s still better than Vanguad multiplayer as they have ruined it with skins etc that aren’t WW2. It’s silly and disrespectful.
BF 2042 is OK but its problem is that it feels empty and a walking through a large field sim.
Nice to see a bit of a reboot of the series.
@Frmknst 2042 can at best be described as near-future but it certainly isn't modern, the hint is in the name.
The specialists were/are a terrible inclusion, nobody wanted them and it made no sense having dozens of the same "specialist" running around a map. The only reason they were there was trend-chasing and to sell skins that looked horrendous and didn't fit in with a military shooter theme in the first place.
I paid £10 for BF 2042 PS5 disc version second hand and £6.99 ps essentials for 1 month, poor performance on most maps on my ps5 and i lost interest, it got stale very quickly for me. Battlefield 2 on PC all those years ago was excellent I thought.I prefer the Call of Duty games with the smaller maps for the great gun play and performance on Playstation 5.
@trev666 @Vault_Mcfly 100%, but all the cry babies won in the end and they produced a bog standard game in a modern setting. I still play BF1 it’s an outstanding game.
I haven’t enjoyed a battlefield game since the bad company games for the PS3/X360. The maps were great with true destruction befitting the modern theme.
Yeah, I wouldn't mind a modern setting, I thought battlefield 2042 was okay (6/10) so they still have my mind share for a new one, bring it on, but if it turns out crap I'll have to look elsewhere in the future because I cannot deal with Call of Duty these days with all of the sliding, jumping and what not.
@nomither6
In this day and age I can't tell if a truly insane take on the internet is genuine or a s--tpost. Nothing surprises me anymore.
I'm really happy to see Vince Zampella on the wheel. To me he's a legend when it comes to Multiplayer FPS. I've enjoyed my time with Titanfall a lot and I guess it's the best Multiplayer shooter I've ever played.
I hope Battlefield will have a great comeback as COD is becoming something I don't recognize anymore.
Honestly I'm shocked this series is still alive at this point. It's been a looooong time since a Battlefield game really hit well. I'd love to see the series get a win again but the last one I liked was Bad Company 2. That was over a decade ago.😬
No mention of the words Single Player or Campaign - interest is now fading....
Bring back Bad Company games those are probably some of the best EA games.
Bad Company 2 was incredible. Figure out what made that the best BF on Playstation and do more of that
I don't give a crap about the setting, the players count, whatever.
The last fun BF was BFBC2 and BF3 to some extent. Go back to what made it all good. All these stupid gimmicks in modern gaming man. Useless
@PegasusActual93 his was obviously a joke, but hey, Ubisoft did it with Far Cry Primal lol
I don't know why they would just revisit Bad Company. Everytime someone at EA mentions the "good" games of Battlefield they skip anything that has to do with BC 1 and 2
Will it have a campaign and does it work on release that's what im more interested in.
BF2042 was a such a joke at launch, they need to get this one right from day one.
Never played an online fps where the bullets didn't even register and it wasn't attributed to ping, some weapons were outright unpickable because of the spray.
It will be genuinely interesting to see if the fanbase will stick to their guns or mass preorder at the first super slick trailer.......
Grabbed 2042 used for 20 to see if it was really that bad after release. ..... It WAS really that bad
Good but at the same time it will be like COD MW remakes, because it was best time for them for sales/nostaglia to go for. Sigh.
I know we won't get any 2 Modern Combat hot swap feature again. Love that feature in the challenges/campaign.
I thought 2042's gimmick was cool never heard anything about it for how it does past games stuff in it or is it just old maps and anything technically impressive if so then eh to that.
Even if 2042 is better now I still don't know what to think of the series and I'm making my way through many PS3/360 shooters, have to try 4 again but beat 3 in one day.
Give us what we really want Vince and announce Titan Fall 3!!!
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