EA confirms next Battlefield game will return to a modern setting

Battlefield is EA’s Call of Duty competitor, and the game hasn’t been seen since the last installment in the first-person military shooter series launched in 2021. Battlefield 2042 received a lot of backlash from players for its multiplayer “specialist” system and lack of a single-player campaign. Nearly three years later, details about the next game in the long-running series have finally emerged, with EA confirming that the next Battlefield game will return to a modern setting.

IGN reported on Tuesday that EA will return to a modern setting for the next Battlefield game, after exploring the near-future setting of Battlefield 2042 and the World War I and World War II periods in Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 5. The company confirmed these details to the publication and released the first concept art for the game. However, EA did not provide details about the game’s official name and release timeline.

Next Battlefield will bring back careers and 64-player maps

EA’s goal is to return to what it does best, and Respawn head and EA Studios Organization group general manager Vince Zampella mentioned Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 in a conversation with IGN. “I mean, if you look back at the peak of Battlefield, it was Battlefield 3… The Battlefield 4 era, everything was modernized. I think we have to get back to the core of Battlefield and do it really well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there,” Zampella told the publication.

“But I think the peak of Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 was the peak of Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. So I think it’s a nostalgia for the players, for me, and even for the team. That was kind of the heyday… although I also think 1942 was the heyday.”

Zampella also talked about narrowing the focus on multiplayer maps in the next Battlefield game. Battlefield 2042 introduced its much-maligned 128-player maps in place of its popular 64-player online matches. However, that decision was not well received by players. The game’s “Expert” system, which replaced traditional classes with ability-based roles, also caused controversy. The executive said those unpopular options will not be in the next Battlefield game.

“We’re testing around what’s going to be the most interesting. So like you said, once the map gets to a certain size, it becomes different. It’s a different play space, and I think you have to design around that. So we’re designing something that’s more akin to previous Battlefields,” he said. “I’d rather have beautiful, dense, really beautiful, well-designed play spaces. And some of them are really great. I can’t wait for you to see some of them,” Zampella added.

The executive confirmed that traditional classes will return in the next installment. “Not everyone likes it, but you have to try something. It didn’t work. It didn’t fit. Specialists are not coming back,” he said. “So classes are the core of Battlefield, and we’re going to return to that.”

Battlefield concept art

Official concept art for the next Battlefield game
Image credit: EA/IGN

The next Battlefield game is being developed by multiple internal studios at EA. A release schedule for the shooter has not yet been determined, but Zampella said EA is “testing the game on a weekly basis” and plans to launch a community program in 2025. A possible beta run suggests a 2025 release date.

EA has yet to reveal any gameplay details for its next flagship shooter, other than a modern setting, 64-player maps and the return of traditional classes. However, concept art revealed on Tuesday hinted at aerial and ship combat, as well as coastal maps.

The official image depicts what appears to be a densely populated European coastal city, with wildfires or volcanic eruptions in the background, hinting at natural or man-made disasters in the game. The city in the image has been heavily bombarded, and Battlefield’s signature environmental destruction will likely play a large role in the upcoming game.