Battlefield Studios today announced a new initiative called Battlefield Labs, a community testing program that lets players provide feedback during the development phase of games. The program will start in the coming weeks, and if you’re interested in being part of the experience, you can sign up for it today on Battlefield’s website.
Battlefield Studios is made up of four different companies. DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive, and Criterion have all contributed to Battlefield titles in the past, and now they’ve come together until a single umbrella to each tackle the aspect of the next Battlefield they most excel in. It’s an impressive collection of talented developers that appears to hold a lot of promise for the next entry in the franchise.
The first wave of invites will go out to players in North America and Europe, although the company plans to expand both invitees and server locations in the future. Players will be able to test specific parts of the game and provide feedback, whether that’s on the multiplayer experience or how certain single-player missions perform. Battlefield Studios released a trailer detailing the endeavor, but be warned: it also has footage of the next in-development Battlefield, if you want to avoid spoilers of any sort.
Everyone can sign up, but invites will be limited. However, Battlefield Studios will provide community updates along the way. Even those players not taking part in Labs will receive updates on how development is proceeding.
The team wants input from players along the way. Several previous Battlefield titles have met with middling reception and sharp criticism from fans; for instance, Battlefield 2042 was widely panned for its hero-shooter approach to specialists, its incredibly rocky launch, and the larger, empty feeling of the maps. The community will be able to address its concerns along the way now, instead of after launch.
