The next installment of Battlefield, the military first-person shooter franchise from DICE and EA that some might regard as being one of the biggest rivals to Call of Duty, will be set in the modern era, similar to what players saw in previous titles that include Battlefield 3 (2011), according to new information shared by Vince Zampella, head of Respawn Entertainment and overseer of the Battlefield series. Zampella, who provided some concept art that can confirm what is apparently a modern setting, mentioned that the next Battlefield will drop some of the features that were introduced in Battlefield 2042, such as Specialists, and, possibly, support for 128 players.
Zampella told an outlet:
- “Yeah, the 128 player, did it make it more fun? Like…doing the number for the sake of the number doesn’t make any sense.”
- “We’re testing everything around what’s the most fun. So like you said, the maps, once they get to a certain scale, become different.”
- “It’s a different play space, and I think you have to design around that. So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields.”
- “I’d rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can’t wait for you to see some of them.”
- “So I wasn’t there for 2042. I don’t know what the rationale was, but for me, it’s like the team tried something new. You have to applaud that effort.”
- “Not everybody liked it, but you got to try things. It didn’t work. It didn’t fit. Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we’re going back to that.”
- “We want it to be good out of the gate.”
The new concept art:
EA on Battlefield 2042’s Specialists feature:
Choose your role on the battlefield and form custom-made squads through the Specialists of Battlefield 2042. Based on Battlefield’s four Classes, Specialists have Traits, Specialties, Gadgets, and Weapon Proficiencies unique to either the Specialist or its Class. Choosing and equipping your Specialist allows you to build synergies within your squad and empower yourself to take on any battle situation.