It may not have been unlikely that a Battlefield 4 would be in the works, considering how strongly EA is trying to take a fight to Activision. The publisher is apparently counting on both DICE‘s shooter and the next dose of Medal of Honor to draw in a crowd, if a now-removed advertisement is to be believed.
According to a brief post on EA’s Origin client, those who pre-order a copy of Medal of Honor: Warfighter will receive access to the Battlefield 4 Beta.
The image was immediately pulled and replaced, implying that EA isn’t quite ready to confirm the accidentally-on-purpose reveal that Battlefield 4 is, in fact, being developed. The publisher has already spilled the beans on a sequel to BF3, so the project being once again confirmed is not exactly a shock. But what it means for the game could speak volumes.
The image was captured by MP1st, and is more than definitive:
If Battlefield 4 actually was meant to be a secret – or at least less of a sure thing – then the developers at DICE probably wouldn’t be so open about their plans for the future. The studio has already voiced their disappointment in the shortcomings of their work so far, and their expectation that the genre will start to stray from modern military settings.
The biggest disappointment if the pre-order incentive is accurate – aside from a new Bad Company game being doubtful – is that the time frame implies that Battlefield 4 will be coming on this generation of consoles. That news will no doubt come as bad news to console fans, considering just how high DICE’s hopes for next-gen hardware already are.
How thrilled DICE must be is anyone’s guess, if EA does have them working on yet another current-gen Battlefield title. That’s obviously not an issue for PC gamers, with the graphical differences between console and PC well established. Whatever the case may be, EA isn’t giving up the fight against Call of Duty, not while this generation is still running, at least.
There’s always the chance that EA really did just jump the gun with their plan to link Warfighter pre-orders, since the move is a no-brainer whether or not BF4 is in production at all. EA hasn’t made any official comment, and may not, but for now fans might be best to look forward to the upcoming year of BF3 DLC.
Battlefield 4 isn’t likely to come any time soon, but we’ll keep you updated.
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Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
Source: MP1st
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I already had my eye on Warfighter but if this is truly the case then it is a definant buy for me. It is disappointing that BF4 wont be next gen but otherwise this is really exciting!
**definite
great move EA, laugh at your competition for annualising then stick your nose up their a** and follow suit. they have so many garbage shooters to bleed to death to give DICE enough time to make a real sequel (lets face it bf3 is only a big update of bad company 2) instead of just release a rehashed version of what’s already out *cough*crytek*cough*.
leave Crytech out of this, the real criminals are Craptivision and CA$HCON
Yes, but they have also set the new standard (very very low) of gaming. Looks like Battlefield is going to jump on board. Not that I care really. BF3 was an abomination compared to BF2.
The difference between what EA and Activision are doing is that EA is releasing annual FPS games in different franchises, while Activision is just releasing CoD games. And BF4′s release date hasn’t been announced yet, but it probably will release in Fall 2013.
EA is using two different franchises, that is true, but they are trying to blur the lines between MoH and BF because they understand the more MoH feels like BF the bigger critical and financial success it will be. Activision has two studios working on the same franchise, this is true. However Infinity Ward works on the MW series while Treyarch really just does their own thing with WaW and the BO series. Same engine and assets are shared between both developers but the line is just really blurred instead of direct copy’s of the same game, kind of like the direction BF and MoH are going. Just my two cents.
I agree. MoH didn’t do the greatest, so EA wants Danger Close to make Warfighter more like BF to make it more successful and popular. At least this time Danger Close is making their own multiplayer.
It makes me laugh how EA bashes Activision for having annualized the CoD franchise when they are basically doing the same thing! EA is switching off on two different games, Medal of Honor and Battlefield. Very sneaky ruse to make it look like each game is getting a lot of development time, however, Treyarch and Infinity Ward get just about the same amount of time, 2 years since they boy alternate on their own CoD franchises. At least have the guts to fess up EA.
And nobody seems to notice, they want to bash COD all the time. Only difference with EA’s shooters is the names and the engine. To be honest, the footage of Medal of Honor: Warfighter looked like a next-gen COD IMO.
I don’t care, I’m buying MOH:W & COD:BO2. It’s a win-win for me because I like them both for the differences they offer.
This fight is getting ridiculous. At least their keeping their mouths shut right now.
Hey I like BF and COD but the fight is just so ridiculous. Releasing BF4 in 2013 is an attempt to get ahead of COD. I’ll wait and see, right now I’m focusing on COD: BO2 and MOH: WF.
BF4′s release date hasn’t been announced yet.
Right, let me rephrase that releasing BF4 in the next 2 or 3 years (whenever they do) shows EA is rushing DICE so they can compete with COD. DICE should at least tell them they need more time. I have every respect for DICE, EA just needs to slow down.
I agree.
BF4 has been officially announced by EA. The beta will begin in Autumn 2013 for those who pre-order MoH Warfighter.
Anyone who follows other gaming sites know this.
You were supposed to infer that BF4 should launch late 2013 from that
It just feels so soon…
Yah, somehow BF2 lasted over 5 years and people were still playing it, now they are going to release BF4 a little over a year after BF3?? Come on… At least bring back the Commander in BF4, and VOIP, then we’ll talk… literally, lol…
Battlefield 4 likely won’t release until the 2013 holidays to go head-to-head with whatever Call of Duty game comes out then. That would make it two years after Battlefield 3. It says you get beta access. It doesn’t say when beta access starts. Plenty of times beta hasn’t started for a game until long after the access codes were given out. Also, don’t forget that just because Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 3 had a 6 year gap does not mean other Battlefield games weren’t coming out. There were five other Battlefield games that came out. This is also a different time for gaming. Attention spans for games are now measured in months instead of years.
I honestly think gamers are getting dumber and dumber and less and less patient. Games that are considered “awesome” now are soooo complete no-brainers to play. Everything is so linear and straight-forward and everything is spelled out to the player. They also rely on too many gimmicks. I am hoping for a Battlefield game more like BF2, but I know the chances of that are slim. It’ll just become more and more like Bad Company… And there will be fewer and fewer differences between the console versions and the PC version… Which pretty much means the PC version will get more and more simplified. Oh well…
I agree. I use to have to work for it in a game. My hand wasn’t held. If I couldn’t complete something I either got better or just had to resign myself to the idea that I’d never beat it. Today’s gamers just want games that you can win easily and everything is just pick-up-and-play. Sure many games have different levels of difficulty for people like me but that’s not helping to stave off a constantly growing crowd of entitled gamers who want everything now. You can really tell the difference between old school gamers and this new crowd.
Why would you want a game that’s so hard that you will never beat it? One of the main points of a game is to progress through it. Why would I want to get stuck on one part and then never know the rest of the story? Never experience the rest of the gameplay and setpieces?
Also, many games today offer multiple difficulty settings, so if you want that old school difficulty, crank it up.
@Matt
I’m not talking about having a game so hard you can never beat it, but at least challenge the player a little bit. In real life, solutions to problems are not always straight-forward. That’s how it should be in games as well. Let us use our logic, deductive-reasoning skills, etc. In the world of today’s gamers, a “puzzle” is simply you walking up to an object and pressing some generic “interact” button and holding it down for a certain amount of time for a circle to fill or a bar to fill or whatever… And if you don’t see what you need to interact with right away, one of the AI characters will keep telling you to interact with that object or will give you a hint about it over and over and over until you do it… Seriously, how many games have you played recently that have this exact gameplay mechanic in it? That’s what new gamers consider “obstacles” now, which is pathetically sad…
And please tell me you haven’t noticed how games now are simply a series of hallways. Even when they give you a sense of being out in an open world, there are always barriers disguised as burnt cars lining a street, rubble blocking other paths, or something else that would keep you going exactly in the direction you need to go. It’s pretty sad…
Increasing the difficulty of a game does not change its paths or so-called “puzzles” or obstacles. The most that does is maybe it makes enemies a little harder to kill, or maybe you get fewer weapon/ammo drops, or maybe your character dies with fewer hits. The way you progress in the game pretty much remains exactly the same…
I’m personally sick of the handholding, I finish a game without any desire to play the game again because I know a second play-through would be exactly the same as the first. I also don’t feel very accomplished because these new games require absolutely no thinking what-so-ever. I could be falling asleep or dozing off and when I wake up I actually managed to progress in the game… It’s sad…
I guess you’re right, but there are several titles out there unlike what you have described, such as Portal and Portal 2, Quantum Conundrum, all of the TES games, even Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, along with plenty of others.
This is just how games have evolved over time. In general, they’ve gotten easier. They’ve become very linear. But that’s what people want, otherwise those types of games wouldn’t sell. People want something more like an interactive movie. A story that you can take part in without affecting the outcomes. Industries evolve over time, and the gaming industry is no exception. Old schoolers are never happy when their favorite industry evolves, but it happens and always will happen.
@Varteras, Ken, & Matt
I agree with all 3 of you. Although I don’t think gamers are getting dumber, just more entitled, impatient, and in it for the “ride”. More casual, I suppose. Hell, SOMETIMES I like a game that’s an “interactive movie” but I rent those. But yea, problem solving on your own was so much more rewarding, there were games I couldn’t even beat. I
guess I’m an old school gamer, I always play everything on the hardest difficulty and turn off hints, if possible.
RIP to all the franchises that turned into a dumbed down, run n’ gun experience
DICE should do Bad Company 3 before they do BF4.
Exactly- put off BF4 for a while and do BC3. Like a poster said, BF2 was around for 5 years before it got a sequel.
In my opinion i’m really scared of buying any game from Dice/EA. because of battlefield 3.It hasn’t even been a year yet and there is already a 50$ price tag for all the maps, this is basically buying the game all over again. In the future i might as well wait 3-4 months for the price to go down so I can afford the game/dlc for the 60-80$ price tag it deserves.
idk if this is always how it is on steam or e.a’s knock off, but why is it seventy? shouldn’t a new game be 60?
@just saying
Wow, actually new games should be $50… But I guess if you’re a console only gamer you’re used to $60 as “cheap” or “normal.” $50 is already high for me, I preordered BF3 and got it on release day for $43… I also got Batman: Arkham City on release day for about $40 as well… And I have Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition preordered for $45 ($36 after a 20% coupon I had).
I realize this is not a BF4 question but I can’t find a single artcile containing anything about PROTOTYPE 2 since its debut a few months back and this BF4 piece is the Most discussed on GameRant.
Has anyone heard if the July 24th date for a PC release of PROTOTYPE2 is still on? Since the game studios office s*** down I’ very afraid this PC port is going to die away and never come to pass and I can;t find a single shred of news about it lately.