Battlefield 5 leak suggests we’re going back in time

By Will Fulton May 6, 2016

battlefield 5 ww1 leak — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Ahead of the official reveal later this evening, a promotional image spotted on the Xbox Store has set the Internet ablaze with speculation that this upcoming entry in the shooter franchise will be heading back to the early 20th century with a World War I setting. (via NeoGAF)

The image (above) depicts a soldier in a typical Battlefield game cover action pose (including the requisite hard orange side light). His clothing, pistol, and the zeppelin looming in the background point toward the first World War. The emblazoned name “Battlefield 1” spotted and tweeted by The Daily Dot’s Myke Wehner further supports this theory. The flowing cape and what appears to be a mace in his left hand give it a slightly fantastical flavor as well, however.

While countless shooters have been made about World War II, including the early entries in both the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises, its predecessor has not seen nearly as much representation. And lately the genre has been skewing toward the future, with science fiction technology allowing for more dynamic gameplay that features exotic weapons and cybernetic superpowers — following 2014’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, that franchise is doubling down with the recently announced Infinite Warfare going even further into the future.

Moving in the opposite direction seems like a savvy move to differentiate the Battlefield series from the glut of sci-fi shooters. This is helped even further if there are indeed fantastical elements, which are a currently underutilized way to spice up prosaic shooter gameplay with special powers and video game pizzazz. Fantasy and first-person shooters have occasionally intersected over the years, most notably early on with Heretic and Hexen in the mid-90s from Raven Software, who is now developing the remastered edition of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

We won’t have to wait too long to find out, because the next Battlefield game is scheduled to be revealed later today at 4:00 pm PT.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

Is Battlefield 5 cross-platform?

Three Soldiers in Battlefield 5

With Battlefield 2042 looming over the gaming horizon, fans of the series are falling back into their favorite Battlefields in recent years. Battlefield V and Battlefield 1 still maintain an active player base to this day but have they kept up with the most modern consoles?

While the most popular games have always been released on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, only recently have players on different consoles been able to play with each other. In this guide, we’ll talk about cross-platform/cross-play support for Battlefield 5.

Gaming

New Battlefield gameplay trailer reveals more features, calls back to old titles

new battlefield 2042 trailer e3 gameplay

EA revealed a new gameplay trailer for Battlefield 2042 at the joint Xbox & Bethesda Games E3 Showcase today. Included in the trailer were some new features that we haven't seen previously in other Battlefield titles, including hot-swapping attachments and wingsuits, which were teased in the game's announcement trailer. However, the gameplay itself confirmed that 2042 will be more akin to Battlefield 3 or Battlefield 4 than Battlefield V or Battlefield 1.

The trailer today showed gameplay of a 128-player match of conquest. The map for the trailer was set in a large cityscape surrounded by sand dunes. Besides getting a look at some unnamed weapons and vehicles, we also saw the game's grappling hook in action, with a player using it to swing on top of a large construction crane.

Gaming

Battlefield 6 reveal stream: What time and where to watch

Battlefield Stream

The next entry in the Battlefield franchise is on the way, and it has been a long time coming. The wait between entries in the series has been extensive, with the last entry, Battlefield V, having been released in 2018. Needless to say, the hype has built up and fans are ready for a new Battlefield experience. To that end, EA has announced a stream taking place on June 9 to reveal the newest addition to the first-person shooter franchise.
When is the Battlefield stream?
EA will start its Battlefield stream at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET) on June 9. For now, it's not clear what format the show will take or if it will be part of a larger event EA has planned. We also don't know if the show will simply be a trailer or a full-on showcase including gameplay.
How to watch the Battlefield stream
Anyone interested in seeing what's next for the Battlefield franchise will be able to watch the show on either the official Battlefield YouTube channel or the Battlefield Twitch channel. Neither has a placeholder up for the stream, so be sure to follow both of those channels and turn on notifications to be alerted when the Battlefield stream begins.

https://twitter.com/Battlefield/status/1399742535942258691
What to expect from the Battlefield stream
As we said before, we're not sure what format the upcoming Battlefield stream will take on. However, we can speak to what will likely be shown. On Twitter, the official Battlefield account called the stream a "reveal," so we probably won't be seeing any gameplay at the event. A trailer will almost certainly debut, showing off the next entry in the Battlefield franchise. As for what that game might look like, it's been rumored that the next Battlefield game will pivot to a modern setting, a stark change after the two previous entries in the franchise.