The attention around the Battlefield franchise has now firmly turned towards the next entry to the series, and DICE is finally taking the first big steps in the post-2042 life of the longstanding franchise. A lot of interest has surrounded this next title for quite some time, with many fans seeing it as a make-or-break project for the series. DICE recently outlined some ambitious changes to the development process of the game that could be quite fruitful.
The uncertainty around Battlefield‘s future largely stems from the high-profile shortcomings of recent titles like Battlefield 2042 and even Battlefield 5. Many of the IP’s creative decisions have seemingly gone against the grain of what fans expect to see from the series. DICE seems to be very aware of the importance of the next Battlefield project hitting the beats that fans want to see, with the company recently outlining the fan-led Battlefield Labs program. If this new program is implemented well, then Labs could be a massive saving grace for the future of the franchise.
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Battlefield Labs Will Hopefully Put the Fans at the Center of the Franchise
The launch of Battlefield 2042 put an infamous dent in the relationship between the series and its fanbase. The initial lack of things like in-game scoreboards, a traditional four class system, and the permanent absence of a single-player experience led to quite a disastrous launch. While 2042 did well to bolster its gameplay through post-launch seasons, the early damage caused by the title’s release made the next project for Battlefield vitally important.
Battlefield 2042‘s early reception saw the game’s Steam 24-hour peak playercount fall to under 5,000 just a few months after launch, a stark drop from its launch peak of 100,000+.
Some skepticism around the next Battlefield was lifted with the reports that it is being bolstered by the most comprehensive play-testing phase that any BF release has ever seen, with DICE also affirming how the game is aiming to recapture the gameplay of classic fan-favorites like Battlefield 3 and 4. This positive sentiment has only been compounded by the announcement of Battlefield Labs on February 3.
Battlefield Labs is the official name for the playtesting program that hopes to be a staple of DICE’s development process for the IP going forward. Players can sign up for early testing for the next Battlefield game; this first major wave of testing is confined to North American and European servers. This will give the community a direct and important voice in the direction and core content of the Battlefield franchise going forward, with the next entry to the series hopefully championing just how successful this approach can be.
The Formation of Battlefield Studios Bodes Well For Labs’ Success
The announcement of Battlefield Labs came alongside the official reveal of Battlefield Studios, a new coalition of EA studios that includes DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive, and Criterion. This gives a much more holistic understanding of the game to the development team of the next Battlefield. The increased capabilities of Battlefield Studios will hopefully be to dissect and implement the fan-generated feedback from Battlefield Labs in the best possible way.
Solid connections between massive franchises and their communities is a growing rarity in the AAA FPS industry, and Battlefield building and maintaining a direct path of influence with its audience could be a fantastic way to compete with other franchises like Call of Duty. If the feedback from Labs is used consistently throughout the life cycle of this upcoming game, then EA could eliminate one of the largest points of criticism that existed in 2024, with this ambitious level of playtesting hopefully reaping huge rewards for the franchise and its fanbase.
