We've known for a while that Electronic Arts and DICE were working away at Battlefield 3, but since beta keys for it came attached with Medal of Honor, we've not heard much on development or features of the game.

This changes today as the marketing machine rolls into action on the next Battlefield installment, starting with yesterday's Game Informer cover art and confirmation that major announcements would be made today. Well, they have, so here is the official Battlefield 3 teaser trailer along with plenty of new details (more players, co-op, jets, etc.!) about the game.

EA continues to promise first person shooter experiences that will best Activision's mammoth industry-dominating Call of Duty franchise but failed to live up to their word on Medal of Honor in 2010, although doing a better job with Battlefield: Bad Company 2. What Battlefield fans really want though, is a true successor to Battlefield 2 and not the console-focused alternatives.

Those of us who've been with the franchise since the original Battlefield 1942 appreciate the PC benefits of the games and Battlefield 3 will reward PC gamers very well with this iteration. But before we get into the details, here's the first official trailer for Battlefield 3:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7gG1P9d6_k

We've all been waiting for this since 2005 and the reason for the wait has a lot to do with the development of the new Frostbite 2 game engine that Battlefield 3 will be utilizing. As for what improvements and new features to expect with the next numbered Battlefield installment? Here's a blurb from the official Battlefield blog:

Battlefield 3 is the true successor to Battlefield 2. Beyond our signature multiplayer, we have also included a full single-player campaign and a co-op campaign — all straight out of the box. As for fan favorite features, how does the return of jets, prone, and 64-player multiplayer (on PC) sound? All this built with our powerful new game engine Frostbite 2, which you'll hear and see a lot of in the months leading up to launch. For the full reveal on Battlefield 3, stay tuned for links to our cover stories hitting the gaming press throughout February, starting with Game Informer right now.

As any loyal Game Rant reader knows, co-op is such an important feature for us and being able to play through the game (hopefully with up to 4 players with system link and splitscreen without dumb restrictions) is amazing. Fans have long wanted the return of the simple ability to lie down prone during combat, especially since its competitor feature lets players do the same. 64-player on PC is also needed and if it wasn't there, we wouldn't be too impressed.

While these somewhat standard genre features are important, what is Battlefield 3 going to bring that's new and innovative to not just the franchise, but to the genre. Expectations are set high and DICE needs to hit it out of the park to really put up a worthy competitor against the next Call of Duty game.

Which are you more excited for: Battlefield 3 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3? And what do you want to see added or changed in Battlefield 3?

Battlefield 3 releases this fall for PC and the capable consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3).

Source: Battlefield Blog