Summary
- Leak suggests the return of divisive 3D spotting in the next Battlefield game, sparking mixed reactions among fans.
- Players provide feedback through the Battlefield Labs program, influencing decisions on new features for the upcoming game.
- EA Games is testing various new features, like on-foot players clinging to moving vehicles, though there’s no confirmation of 3D spotting’s return.
New leaks from the latest playtest of EA Games Battlefield Labs program have hinted at the potential return of 3D spotting, a mechanic that has proven divisive in the player community. Battlefield Labs is the ongoing test program conducted by EA Games for the development of the next Battlefield series game.
The next Battlefield game may not have an official title, release date, or themes confirmed yet, but players and commentators are getting a lot of information about how it might play. That’s because EA Games is heavily involving the current player community in the development of the next Battlefield game (whatever it ends up being called), via Battlefield Labs, the evolution of its old Community Testing Program. In it, players who registered to join Battlefield Labs get to participate in scheduled live playtests, with their data and feedback analyzed by developers to help inform decisions about new features for the next Battlefield game. While players sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) once involved, much information has been leaked from Battlefield Labs playtests to be scrutinized by the public.
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The latest leak comes from a Reddit commenter going by error_point, who said that they participated in the second round of Battlefield Labs playtesting. During the test, they said that “3D spotting” was enabled during the new playtest. 3D spotting is a Battlefield series feature that mimics the ability of soldiers to call attention to specific threats by allowing players to use a specific command to highlight an enemy for their teammates, temporarily marking them on the minimap and in the in-game HUD. 3D spotting has been a feature in many of the best Battlefield titles, including beloved entries like Bad Company 2.
Battlefield Labs Leak Suggests That 3D Spotting Feature Could Make A Return
3D spotting has proven to be a divisive feature among Battlefield fans. Some enjoy 3D spotting for the ability to help their team without needing expert marksmanship skills, as it marks an enemy on the minimap and on the in-game HUD, revealing their position to the team. Critics complained about how the effect is a “legal” form of a “wall hack” cheat, as it gives enemies real-time positional information to work off of. Critics of this feature also said that 3D spotting reduces the value of Battlefield 2042 Specialists with recon-based abilities.
It should be said that the Battlefield Labs sessions are merely tests, and aren’t necessarily a confirmation that 3D spotting will return to the next Battlefield game. EA Games could simply be testing the feature for potential inclusion, alongside other new Battlefield features revealed in previous leaks, like on-foot players potentially clinging to moving vehicles.
Whether or not 3D spotting comes back to Battlefield, it looks like these tests are giving the community plenty to look forward to. It’ll be up to EA Games’ to strike a balance between returning old features and satisfying the player population.
EA’s Battlefield franchise is a series of first-person shooter games. The games have predominantly been set in the modern day, though there have also been titles set in World War 1, World War 2, and in the near future.
The Battlefield franchise is often compared to Call of Duty, with both franchises offering single-player campaigns and online multiplayer.