Vince Zampella, who is not only the head of Respawn Entertainment, but also the boss of the Battlefield franchise, revealed Electronic Arts’ approach to the next episode.
Ahead of EA’s Investor Day, the publisher has released more details about the new Battlefield, and we can see a concept image of it, courtesy of IGN. We’ve learned that Battlefield will not take place during World War I or II, but in the modern era. The location has not yet been confirmed by Electronic Arts, but the image suggests that the episode will take place somewhere in Europe, presumably Italy or France.
The image also shows that ships and helicopters may fight each other on the battlefield, and that natural disasters may complicate things. The concept art is very reminiscent of Battlefield 4 in terms of color tones, and that’s no coincidence, as Zampella himself has stated that they want to go back to the heyday of the franchise. That was back in the early 2010s with Battlefield 3 and 4, and Zampella believes they need to get back to what made the franchise great and successful. He doesn’t just see those two as nostalgic, but also the very first Battlefield 1942.
The return to the modern era means they want to get the franchise back on track after Battlefield 2042. This part was different and felt more like a hero shooter (e.g. Overwatch, Marvel Rivals) and with maps supporting 128 players, it was a pretty ambitious game. It also wasn’t very popular with fans. Currently, Zampella and his team have a program that will be announced next year that will be very community focused. He says that the main goal is to regain the trust and the audience.
And that will not be an easy task, as Electronic Arts has not been able to provide any serious competition to Activision Blizzard and its upcoming episodes of Call of Duty after Battlefield 4…
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