New Battlefield is set in modern day – dev calls PS5 Pro price ‘not that bad’

17 Sep

New Battlefield is set in modern day – dev calls PS5 Pro price ‘not that bad’

Battlefield 6 concept art — This setting seems purposefully ambiguous (EA/IGN)

EA has started to talk up Battlefield 6, with the promise of a back-to-basics approach with class types and no more 128-player battles.

Battlefield 2042 was the sort of flop that puts into question the entire future of a franchise. Its reputation did improve a little afterwards, but at launch it was a complete sales failure and hated by most long-term fans.

It very quickly became clear that EA was not giving up though, with multiple teams put into action on what seems to be more than one new title – including a would-be rival to Call Of Duty: Warzone.

EA and series overlord Vince Zampella (the co-creator of Call Of Duty) have never been very specific about any of their plans but that’s changed this week, with a promise to go back to traditional classes and a modern day setting.

Going back to basics is the standard response from any company when they upset a fanbase, and for obvious reasons.

‘If you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it’s that Battlefield 3… Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern,’ Zampella told IGN. ‘And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there.’

Zampella also revealed some very ambiguous looking concept art and hinted that the game would be ditching the 128-player matches from Battlefield 2042 and, presumably, going back to the traditional 64-player modes.

‘Doing the number for the sake of the number doesn’t make any sense. We’re testing everything around what’s the most fun… The maps, once they get to a certain scale, become different… So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields,’ he said. ‘I’d rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces.’

The only thing he’s explicit about is that specialists will not be returning and instead it’ll be back to the classic classes system.

‘It didn’t work. It didn’t fit,’ admits Zampella. ‘Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we’re going back to that.’

There’s no indication of what the game might be called (maybe Battlefield 6?) or when it will be released but it’s a good bet it’ll be sooner rather than later.

‘We have a programme that we’re going to announce next year around getting more community in, because that’s kind of the core of what we have to do – get the community back on our side, get that trust back,’ said Zampella.

What he also said, though, in a separate article, was that the PS5 Pro isn’t that expensive, when he was asked whether the new Battlefield would be taking advantage of it.

‘I think it’s expected and anything that gets us better performance for the people that really love it. To me, it’s an amazing thing. I was watching something on it where the price… where they look at is it the most expensive. And it really isn’t,’ said Zampella.

He will have been thinking about the US price of $700, which works out as £530. Even with US tax added on that’s significantly more expensive than what the console costs in the UK, where it’s priced at £700.

‘If you go back, some of the older consoles were just as expensive and probably adjusted for inflation were probably more. So, it at first seemed a little shocking, but it’s kind of like, it’s actually not that bad. And if you get a $700 PC, you’re not getting the same performance that you’re getting out of it,’ he added – although, again, he’s thinking purely of US prices.

‘So I mean, it’s a balance. Is it expensive for people? Absolutely. Not everybody will be able to afford it. Would it be better if it was cheaper? Sure. I want more people to have it. But it makes sense, really.’