While news is just rolling in regarding Battlefield 4 and its multiplayer beta, which players can participate in if they pre-order Medal of Honor: Warfighter, it has now been revealed when that testing phase for DICE's highly anticipated sequel might take place. According to an EA employee, who was operating under some anonymity on Reddit, the Battlefield 4 beta should roll out in the Fall of next year.

Drawing from last year's Battlefield 3 beta as a point of comparison, that would lead us to believe the release of Battlefield 4 should be during the holiday season of 2013. The EA employee confirmed the assumption by saying a release should take place sometime after the beta. It's a little disconcerting to see Battlefield fall into the Call of Duty trap of releasing titles every two years (speaking strictly from a development perspective, I'm aware that COD releases every year), but more Battlefield is certainly something to get excited about.

Part of the appeal of Battlefield, and hopefully now Medal of Honor, is the time and attention to detail provided for the teams working on those projects. If EA tries to rush things along, that could lead to a product that, while engaging, feels unpolished. The intent of a beta is typically to fine tune and hone the multiplayer element of a product, but when it takes place so close to release, usually it's considered more of a demo.

In addition to hinting at Battlefield 4's release date, DICE also has come out to assuage non-fans of Medal of Honor in regards to their Battlefield 4 beta chances. While Medal of Honor is currently the only announced way to guarantee oneself entry into the beta, the developer says that will not be the only way. If you'll remember, there were actually tons of ways to get involved in the Battlefield 3 beta, including an open form of the beta.

Medal of Honor Pre Order Battlefield 4 Beta

With all this talk of Battlefield 4, fans of DICE's current outing, Battlefield 3, might be afraid that the developer is jumping ship and moving on to their next project, but rest assured they will continue to support Battlefield 3 for quite some time. The developer claims that much like they have maintained support for Bad Company 2, they will keep teams on-hand to deal with gamer feedback for Battlefield 3 well after the release of End Game, which is presumed to be the final piece of DLC for the shooter.

As details regarding Battlefield 4 continue to ramp up in frequency, it's only a matter of time before gamers themselves start focusing their attention on DICE's next developmental endeavor and less on the current iterations of titles. For now, though, the prospect of Medal of Honor: Warfighter should be enough to keep shooter fans placated.

When do you think Battlefield 4 will release, and when do you think it should release? Will you be picking up Medal of Honor just to get in on the beta?

Battlefield 4 is rumored to be targeting a late 2013 release on the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360.

Source: CVG