The Battlefield brand is to be oriented towards a business model in the future, which will also help Call of Duty to new success in a similar way.
Battlefield 2042 will be released on 22 October 2021 and takes the series back in a direction that fans have long sorely missed. However, there are old elements in a new guise, as evidenced by the large Portal mode.
This direction is part of a larger strategy for the brand that revolves around live service, mobile and Free2Play, as EA chief Andrew Wilson explained in an investor call. According to the statement, Battlefield is also returning to a two-year release policy. But more than that: a spin-off is also to appear on mobile devices.
Free Elements
Further, Battlefield 2042 will include a Free2Play component. While Wilson doesn’t get more specific about this, it could be the as yet unannounced Hazard Zone mode. At least that’s what the well-known leaker Tom Henderson believes. It would be conceivable if we take a look at the competitor Call of Duty: Warzone.
Read the new statements from Andrew Wilson (via wccftech.com) here in the German translation:
“Do we think Battlefield will come out every two years again? I would say – I think that’s our direction. But more importantly: I think Battlefield should be thought of as a service. What we’ve announced, what we’re doing for the launch of this game is really a revolution and a reinvention of our epic warfare in the context of gameplay.
We also announced Battlefield Portal, which will rely on user-generated content and encourage long-term engagement with the game. And while Hazard Zone has been announced, we haven’t revealed much about what’s going on there yet. You will learn more about it in the coming months.
This really sets the stage for how we envision the future of a live service around Battlefield, which over time will include a mobile launch, will include some free components, and will really change the nature of what happens from release to release. While we’re thinking today about whether a launch every two years makes sense, we’re really focused on a 365-day engagement with the series at the platform level and on all the devices that consumers want to play on. ”
A slice of the CoD pie
With its broader business model, EA is apparently drawing its conclusions from Call of Duty’s recent successes. The shooter competitor recently celebrated gigantic successes with the Free2Play offshoot Warzone, the mobile spin-off Call of Duty Mobile and a functioning season model. Previously, Activision had stated that annual sales under the old business model were declining from year to year.
With the new business model around a Season Pass with cosmetic content and numerous microtransactions, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare became the most successful CoD of all time. The Free2Play aspect of Warzone also ensured further sales and later even carried the subsequent CoD: Cold War.
So it’s no wonder that EA is moving in a similar direction with Battlefield. However, Battlefield 5 also wanted to score with service, but failed because new content did not follow quickly enough. It remains to be seen whether DICE and EA can make their own mark in the service landscape with Battlefield 2042 and later releases.
Learn more about the game? Read all known information about Battlefield 2042 in our big overview, including the confirmed modes, maps and which weapons we could already identify in official pictures and trailers.
