For Battlefield fans, the hype train is starting up once more. Is Battlefield 6 on the horizon? What will it be like? Now, more than two years after Battlefield V’s launch fiasco, EA is beginning to let slip a few hints at what the next game in the franchise will hold.
While various Battlefield content creators give their speculations, preferences, and predictions, most of the community seems to be rather subdued. There’s not too much information to go off of, after all, so it’s best not to get hopes up. All that aside, let’s take a look at what we do know about the next Battlefield title.
Facts
An EA earnings call from November 5th, 2020 mentioned the new Battlefield title seven times. Here’s what we know.
Firstly, the next Battlefield title aims to launch in “holiday 2021.” EA is “excited to share a lot more about the game in the spring,” so keep an ear out then.
CEO Andrew Wilson claims that DICE is creating the new Battlefield game with “never before seen scale.” He goes on, saying: “The technical advancements of the new consoles are allowing the team to deliver a true next-gen vision for the franchise.”
Besides being large-scale (a staple of the Battlefield franchise, at this point), Wilson said that the “entire studio around the development of Battlefield” has been given an extra year of time to work on the game “…to ensure that they can, in fact, build a true next-gen vision around that game.”
Furthermore, DICE is not alone in developing the new Battlefield game. “We’ve brought in talent from across the industry who have really bolstered our belief and our confidence in our ability to launch that game next year,” said Wilson.
Rumors
A number of rumors are circulating that the new title will be exclusive to “next-gen” consoles. The emphasis on providing a “next-gen vision” seems to support the idea that EA will be catering towards the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but it does not inherently shun last-generation consoles. It is also important to keep in mind that these “next-gen” consoles are still out-of-stock in most places. I’m not so sure EA is willing to bank on Sony and Microsoft fixing their stocking issues for this title to be a success.
Of course, what game announcement would be complete without rumors that are completely unverifiable and often impossible to track down? An anonymous Reddit poster has helped spread claims that the next Battelfield game will be World War 3, between NATO forces and Russia. Supposedly, EA will bring back War Stories with a variety of locations and perspectives. The wide range of multiplayer maps will reflect this variety of single-player War Stories, according to the rumors. Seeing as how this information is completely unverifiable, I wouldn’t pay too much heed to it.
Rumors also beg the question of whether or not EA has much faith in the Battlefield franchise after Battlefield V. Some speculate Battlefield V’s comparative failure will encourage EA to stay true-to-form with this release. Others speculate that, giving the studio an extra year to finish the game, EA is desperate for a big success in the Battlefield franchise.
Leaks
GamesBeat editor Jeff Grubb stated, among other things, that “Battlefield VI is modern.” With a recent history of truthful leaks – and the fact that Battlefield has been in the early-to-mid 20th century for the past four years – I’m willing to believe that the game is modern, at the very least.
Frequent leaker Tom Henderson also tweeted that the game maps have been designed with “128+ players in mind.” The rumors surrounding this imply that, like Call of Duty’s Warzone, Battlefield 6 will try to adopt a Battle Royale type gamemode. Additionally, Henderson claims that the game will not follow in the footsteps of Battlefield V’s release and that it already has “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from third parties.
We’ll have to wait until the spring time to be sure of anything. If this Battlefield 6 game is as big as EA advertises, it has the unique opportunity to define the shooters of a game-sparse console generation. That is, if it doesn’t all crash and burn.
