One of the senior developers of Battlefield 6 offered an interesting analogy when discussing how to address problems related to live service games.
There was a brief moment when everyone seemed happy with Battlefield 6. Although there were complaints about the size of the maps and the gameplay, the return to modern military shooters and the sheer scale of destruction won over even the most cynical multiplayer first-person shooter fans. However, the release of the battle royale mode, Redsec, and the subsequent activation of the live service machine with a disappointing new map and weekly challenges that made battle royale gameplay mandatory ended Battlefield 6’s honeymoon period.
Battlefield Studios rushed to resolve these issues while negative reviews on Steam prompted the developers of Battlefield 6 to address the situation. In an interview with IGN, design director Justin Wiebe assured players that the studio is always listening. He also discussed the team’s approach to addressing issues raised by the community in a live service scenario. However, addressing these issues must be balanced with the game’s existing roadmap.
“As soon as the game launched, we had people looking at all forms of player communication and taking notes. They said, “We had planned to do this in live service, but we’re hearing that it’s a problem for the community.” If it’s a problem for the community, then let’s talk about it. Let’s see how we can prioritize it. I always say that with live service, you have a big clock. Every time there’s a player issue, you start the clock to measure and value your time with the player. That way, the player and the community know we’re listening and will react accordingly.
We also weigh that against our ambitions for future content and experiences in live services because this is just the beginning, and we want to address player feedback and add new, exciting experiences. When we update maps, I want to ensure that our work adds to the player experience. I don’t want it to be just a quick cosmetic change. I want there to be new, fun things to explore. It adds to gameplay in new and meaningful ways,” said Wiebe.
He didn’t mention future maps for Battlefield 6, probably because a new map, Eastwood, is coming next week.
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