The next game from the Battlefield franchise could drop in the fall of 2021, according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson.
Although both Sony and Microsoft will be launching next-gen consoles next year, fans should not expect the sixth installment from the game in 2020 as EA has confirmed in a Q2 2020 earnings call that the next Battlefield won't drop until fiscal year 2022, which puts a potential release around fall 2021.
Wilson has explained that the decision to put more time between the current Battlefield title and the one set to follow was a hard one to make but claims that EA sees "a burgeoning opportunity with Battlefield V." The growth of the free-to-play Apex Legends is also a factor as the company sees another opportunity to continue to engage the game's many players.
"Battlefield has always been cutting edge, leading-edge, both in terms of visual fidelity and in gameplay and in multiplayer play," he added. "And as a team really began working against that. It became apparent to us that, launching into the next-gen platforms was going to offer tremendous opportunity for innovation. But we really wanted to give the install base some opportunity to grow. And believe that in combination with the first three things I talked about launching Battlefield in FY ‘22 is a really strong move for us and presents us with an opportunity for strong two years of growth.
"In terms of the overall franchise direction, I don’t think you should read into this a dramatic change in franchise direction other than it will be driven around live service as the nature of our industry now. It will be cutting edge. It will be high fidelity. It will be doing things in the context of multi-play and social play and competition that Battlefields to this point have not done. And we do believe it will be a really, really exciting title in FY ‘22."
Basically, EA will wait for the upcoming consoles to amass a suitable install base while also hoping that the pause will give DICE ample time to develop a cutting-edge game for next-gen play. The period will also allow for further development where Apex Legends is concerned, as well as Battlefield V.
Source: Wccftech.com