The next entry in EA Dice’s Battlefield series will reportedly take players back to where the series began: World War II. Sources close to EA told GamesBeat that the game is titled Battlefield V and launches later this year.
Shortly after GamesBeat published its report, a leaked image purportedly showing the game’s logo surfaced on Reddit.
This would end a nearly decade-long drought of Battlefield games set in World War II. Battlefield 1943, a multiplayer-only downloadable title for PS3 and Xbox 360, launched in 2009.
The reason for the game’s title is a bit of a mystery. Internally, Battlefield V was known as “Battlefield 2.” That would’ve made sense and kept with the naming convention adopted in 2016. Battlefield 1 transported players to World War I, so a game set in World War II could logically be named Battlefield 2. Perhaps DICE didn’t want to confuse longtime players, though. A 2005 entry in the series was titled Battlefield 2.
A commenter on Reddit pointed out that the “V” could be in reference to the “V for Victory” slogan that was used by Western Allies in World War II.
Given the critical and commercial success of Battlefield 1, it’s not surprising EA appears to be sticking with historical shooters. Still, it’s indicative of an ongoing change of course for two of the top first-person shooter franchises. The Battlefield series spent three entries in the present — Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, and Battlefield: Hardline — before diving back into history with Battlefield 1.
Battlefield’s closest competitor, Call of Duty, also returned to its roots in 2017 with Call of Duty: WWII, after devoting numerous entries to present and futuristic warfare.
EA hasn’t confirmed the existence of Battlefield V yet, but it is expected to be revealed soon and will launch later in 2018. It’s a safe bet that the game will come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The report also dispelled a popular rumor that Dice is currently developing a third entry in the Bad Company sub-series. According to GamesBeat, there is no truth to that rumor. But Dice hasn’t completely eliminated a possible revival of Bad Company. Should the studio’s current plans for the series not pan out as expected, it is reportedly open to revisiting the fan-favorite.
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