Battlefield 2042 is off to a tough start, but now more information has emerged about the future of Battlefield. Are we getting a Battlefield Battle Royale soon?
Battlefield 2042 has had serious problems since launch. Numerous bugs and glitches, as well as poor weapon balance and specialists, overshadow the latest part of the series. With the latest update 0.3.0 many bugs have been fixed and some specialists and weapons have been adjusted. Whether that's enough to save Battlefield 2042 is questionable, but it is a step in the right direction. But thanks to a few posts on Twitter and an in-depth interview with some Battlefield devs from Gamespot, we now know more about the future of Battlefield.
The Future of Battlefield
Anyone who follows Battlefield on Twitter has probably noticed in the past few days that numerous employees have either left the company or started again. Among other things, DICE GM Oskar Gabrielson vacated his post and video game legends such as Vince Zampella (responsible for Apex Legends) and Marcus Letho (Halo Designer) have been brought on to enrich the Battlefield franchise in the future. But what kind of plans do the newcomers have?
Our vision for Battlefield starts with our commitment to 2042 and grows beyond that into a new future. Hear more about our road ahead with Vince Zampella and others in a new interview.https://t.co/ZdKqQOMVuz
— Battlefield (@Battlefield) December 2, 2021
A Battlefield Universe
Vince Zampella, the co-founder of Respawn (the studio behind Apex Legends), will head the Battlefield franchise going forward. In an interview, he said that they don't want to replace Battlefield 2042 in the future — they want to create a connected Battlefield universe. The Battlefield Universe would share characters and story and involve the community via the portal mode. In the future, several Battlefield titles might exist in parallel, which are connected to each other via certain in-game elements. But what else could be coming to the Battlefield Universe?
We already know of a Battlefield Mobile that is in development and should be released in 2022. There are also unconfirmed rumors about a free-to-play Battlefield and at least one other project that Halo designer Marcus Letho is working on with a newly founded studio. Letho, who among other things designed the Master Chief, should be primarily responsible for bringing more story into the Battlefield universe.
Also, we're building a new studio from scratch in the Seattle area so I'm looking for core leadership in many disciplines.If you have 5-10+ years of FPS experience, love the idea of working in the Battlefield universe, and want to help build an awesome team, please reach out! pic.twitter.com/CZPLu98oGI
— Marcus Lehto (@game_fabricator) December 2, 2021
Battlefield Battle Royal
It was also announced that the Portal developers, Ripple Effect, will continue to support their sandbox mode in the future, while at the same time working on a "new experience". Hazard Zone is a cool idea, but it can't compete with Warzone, Fortnite or Apex. Since, with Zampella, there is also someone in a leading position who is responsible for one of the best battle royale games, we would be very surprised if the new battlefield universe didn't get a battle royale.
The fact that work is already being carried out on a free-to-play title only reinforces the suspicion. I mean, which games are often free-to-play? Right, Warzone, Apex and Fortnite — just battle royale games! In Battlefield V, DICE already had a really cool Battle Royale experience with Firestorm. The problem back then was that it wasn't free-to-play and therefore only reached a few players. With Zampella at the helm, we are sure that a new foray into the Battle Royale could work for them.
The concept of a larger Battlefield universe consisting of several interconnected games sounds ambitious, but also really exciting. We can't wait to find out more about it, and of course we will keep you updated.