Free-To-Play Cod: Warzone-Style Game May Be a Solid Part of Battlefield Ecosystem
The future of the Battlefield series is beginning to take shape. It's possible that an essential part of the new BF ecosystem will be a free installment with a Battle Royale mode.
Tom Henderson has delved into the topic of the new Battlefield games and gathered the latest rumors in a new article for Insider-Gaming. While most of the information presented is simply a reminder of already known facts and reports, the news about a free Battlefield with an emphasis on Battle Royale mode can be considered fresh (although mentions of it were already floating around the Internet in December 2023).
The title should take inspiration from Call of Duty: Warzone and, similar to the free online CoD, complement a full-fledged premium edition. The Ripple Effect studio (previously DICE LA, helped with BF2042) is to work on the game, and the project leader is Byron Beede, who was previously responsible for the Call of Duty brand services.
At present, Battlefield F2P is set to provide two gaming modes, comprising the traditional Battle Royale encounter and an option named Gauntlet, where player teams will engage in missions with specific objectives (the team with the lowest score will be eliminated from next matches). This strategy could be justified by the failure of Battlefield V's Firestorm and Battlefield 2042's Hazard Zone modes, which are essential components of both games.
Furthermore, Henderson also talks about reorganizations at Ridgeline Games studio, which is responsible for the story campaign of Battlefield 7, and introduces the news of a free BF in the brand's new reality, to which Electronic Arts executives have been accustoming us for some time. Andrew Wilson mentioned a "truly integrated ecosystem" in August 2023 (the free version may be a crucial aspect), and subsequently declared that we can expect to play the new paid installment of the series no earlier than 2025 (as per Henderson - in October).
The final one will also provide a multiplayer mode featuring battles for 64 players and four character classes, along with an advanced environmental destruction system. The game's action is set to take place between 2025 and 2030.
