EA confirms next Battlefield game will return to modern setting
Electronic Arts’ Call of Duty competitor Battlefield has been absent since the last entry in the first-person military shooter franchise launched in 2021. Battlefield 2042 was met with criticism from players over its multiplayer “Specialist” system and lack of a single-player campaign. Nearly three years later, details about the next game in the long-running series have finally surfaced, with EA confirming that the next Battlefield game will return to a modern setting.
After exploring the near future in Battlefield 2042 and World Wars I and II in Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V, EA is returning to a modern setting for its next Battlefield title, an IGN game. report revealed on Tuesday. The company confirmed the details to the publication and released the first concept art of the game. However, EA did not provide details on the game’s official title or launch timeline.
Next Battlefield Brings Back Classes and 64-Player Maps
EA’s intention is to get back to what it does best, with Head of Respawn & Group GM for EA Studios Organization Vince Zampella referring to Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 when speaking to IGN. “I mean, if you look back at the peak or the apex of Battlefield, it’s the Battlefield 3… Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern. And I think we need to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do it amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there,” Zampella told the publication.
“But I think for me the pinnacle of Battlefield-ness is in those Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it’s nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even. Those are kind of the heyday… although I would also say 1942.”
Zampella also spoke about limiting the focus on multiplayer maps in the next Battlefield title. Battlefield 2042 launched with much-criticized 128-player maps to replace the popular 64-player online matches. However, the decision was not well received by players. The game’s “Specialist” system, which replaced traditional classes with skill-based characters, was also controversial. The director said that these unpopular choices would not return in the next Battlefield game.
“We’re testing everything around what’s the most fun. So like you said, the maps, once they get to a certain scale, they’re going to be different. It’s a different play space, and I think you have to design around that. So we’re designing something that’s more like previous Battlefields,” he said. “I’d rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can’t wait for you to see some of them,” Zampella added.
The director confirmed that traditional classes will return in the next installment. “Not everyone liked it, but you had to try things. It didn’t work. It didn’t fit. Specialist isn’t coming back,” he said. “So classes are kind of the core of Battlefield, and that’s what we’re going back to.”
Battlefield concept art
Official concept art for the next Battlefield game
Photo credit: EA/IGN
The next Battlefield title is in development across multiple internal studios at EA. There is no release timeline for the shooter yet, but Zampella said EA was “testing the game every week,” with plans to launch a community development program in 2025. A likely beta would point to a 2025 release.
Aside from the modern setting and the return of 64-player maps and traditional classes, EA has yet to reveal any gameplay details for its next flagship shooter. However, concept art revealed on Tuesday hints at air and ship combat, as well as a coastal map.
The official image shows what appears to be a densely populated European coastal city, with forest fires or a volcanic eruption in the background, hinting at natural or man-made disasters in the game. The city in the image is being heavily bombed, and Battlefield’s trademark environmental destruction is likely to feature prominently in the upcoming title.
