In the fall, the release of the new part of Battlefield will be held and the initial videos recorded in the closed test have inspired the user parts with the best hope. The game is really like popular 3 and 4 more than 2042. But, according to the insiders, the expectation should be moderate – the project has a big internal problem. Information port arstechnica.com speak More about them.
To understand the situation with the next battlefield, you need to understand the context. In the early 2010s, Battlefield 3 and 4 covered the wider object to directly compete with Call of Duty-an unconditional push at that time. Concessions of the battlefield, mainly participating in the Swedish dice workshop, blessed the shooting quickly with large battles, where equipment and dozens of different players participated.
That era was the golden age of the battlefield. But the fifth of the series, published in 2018, received a mixed reaction and EA began to lose the attention of players in the industry that grows rapidly. The new trend is Overwatch (2016), Fortnite (2017) and Call of Duty, found a second wind. Fortnite won a big audience thanks to the regime of the royal battle, and although EA tried to realize something similar in Battlefield V, the idea was unsuccessful.
After Battlefield V, the studio participated in the project, positioned as a return to the tradition of 3 and 4 parts. The game is called Battlefield 2042 – to honor the year that her events took place. But the release in 2021, to speak gently, did not justify hope – and just the story of Battlefield 6 starting from here.
2042 disappointed not only players, but also those who work with it. According to sources inside the company, Battlefield 2042 has been flying over the time planning for Alpha to be able to play – usually mostly at this time, if not all, the basic mechanism of the game should be given. Because of this, the final release of the project will have to be postponed so that developers can recognize their vision exactly and justify the player's expectations. If you are practical, the release date will be delayed at least six months-but instead, DICE received 4-5 weeks.
The moral morality of developers has decreased, but EA was able to restore part of the reputation of a failed game due to content support. However, in 2042, she could not recognize her ambition. Because the studio has planned for the next game of Se -Ri, the company organized an analysis after the 2042 battlefield and concluded that the problem was being implemented, and had no creative vision.
In order not to repeat errors, EA has launched new processes to control the development and put three industry veterans of the industry into the head of the Glacier project (the name of the production name Battlefield 6). Byron Bidy, Marcus Summer (co-founder of Halo) and Vince Zapopell-one of the Call of Duty concessions. Yes, in the context of these personnel permutation, DICE has left some important employees, including the creative director of Lars Gustavsson, known under the nickname Mr. Battlefield.
EA sets a rather ambitious goal against the Glacier team – to achieve 100 million players. Battlefield never achieved such a large audience; Battlefield 2042 can only reach 22 million. Even Battlefield 1, is the most successful game of the series, only recorded 30 million Fortnite and Call of Duty can be proud of the free mode of battle of battle companies and many traditional players. And this does not count the portal mode, focusing on the user content.
In total, Glacier received much wider insurance than her predecessors. Developers stated that this is the most expensive game of franchise: In early 2023, the target budget was estimated at $ 400 million than the original plan. But the development suffers a number of problems, which is why EA has to lead to Glacier hundreds of additional staff from different studios, which increases the cost of the project. The insiders believe that the current budget estimates have exceeded $ 400 million.
The first problem is skepticism. Despite the great ambition of new leaders and EA's leading management and managers, almost none of the people working on Glacier, do not believe in the achievements of 100 million valuable players. No market forecast shows the results even close to the desire.
The second problem is to close Ridgeline Studio, led by Marcus Summer. His group has participated in the plot campaign of the glacier: According to the idea, one of the main elements of the project, because Call of Duty always has single modes. The team has worked in the campaign for two years, gradually expanding the staff and increasing the scale of development, but in February 2024, the studio closed strangely. According to the insiders, Ridgeline escaped the internal roar and concealed the real state of the project, and when the last truth was revealed, the EA Management Board was very unhappy. Although, at the same time, other sources opposed that his summer and the group will initially cannot accomplish their goals. They predicted him that Ridgeline would collect a group of experts from the beginning, but at the same time will not fall behind the speed of other studios.
After the collapse of the detour, the responsibility of a single campaign falls into criteria, dice and engine. But they also have a difficult job, because Ridgeline really does not leave anything that can be completed and put into the mind. Slone ingredients must be redesigned, but there have been much brief terminology. At the end of the spring of 2025, the plot campaign was the only game mode that did not reach the Alpha period even a year after the expected period.
According to some sources, this is a symptom of a broader cultural conflict and procedure, which has affected other parts of the project. The third issue begins here – the voltage between Swedish dice and the new Battlefield's new leadership. The Swedish people proud that they themselves have the basis for franchise, but now the studio only works at owners from the United States. The dice staff treats them with no belief in the difference in the principles: If they just want to create a good game, then EA is pursuing exclusive to the numbers and financial results.
But this embarrassed Europeans. American developers also have their own complaints. Therefore, those who work in other internal studios have to come up with the transition to a new production model: if one group was the main group, while others supported it, the four main groups worked on Glacier at the same time. Plus the external support from other EA groups, plus management, is based in Los Angeles. We have to spend too much time on creative questions like communication between studios, from which, worsen the impact of errors and increase the price of people who do not live upon expected.
By the end of May 2025, all the components of Glacier achieved the intended goals … except for the plot campaign. But at the same time, sources believe that there are some incomplete tasks and inconsistencies, because perhaps, the game will be in suspicious state on the release date. It is not only about the carved content, but also for an impressive patch of the first day. Under the threat of reducing content, the plot is particularly positioned, because the regime is too late and no crane developers will not be able to bring it to the appropriate state.