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Electronic Arts is hosting an event next week to officially unveil Battlefield 4 to the world. The upcoming next-gen shooter from Swedish developer DICE is the successor to EA's fastest-selling game of all-time and while the game's existence was already made official during a promotion for Medal of Honor: Warfighter  - not too mention, investor meetings - it wasn't until last week when leaked artwork hit, did the marketing begin.

Not long after a description for the Battlefield 4 art surfaced, did suspicious (planted?) low-res versions begin to pop up until the full art released. Likely planted by EA's PR/marketing team in conjunction with the announcement of an event in San Francisco on March 26th, the art confirmed that Battlefield 4 will offer a similar experience to Battlefield 3, taking place in the same modern setting and running on the same Frostbite 2 engine.

New details have since emerged from BF4Central, and while they qualify as rumors for the time being, most of it is obvious, general statements we already knew about, combined with a few details and confirmations.

  • Battlefield 4 will stick with 64 players. Maps are larger and more detailed.
  • Three factions: US, Russia, and an unnamed “Eastern/Asian” faction.
  • 4 classes with "additional features and tweaks" compared to BF3
  • Shipping with same amount of maps as BF3, there are plans for lots of DLC.
  • DLC is already in planning stages.
  • Battlefield 4 Premium will be available on day one and include some perks.
  • Most of the guns and vehicles from BF3 will return.
  • More squad features.
  • Commander feature returns, but won’t be the same as in BF2
  • Battlefield 4 is coming out on both current and next gen systems, and PC as well.
  • Game is more of an evolution rather than revolution of the series. Both technically and gameplay wise.
  • Will ship with more game modes than BF3
  • Will ship with more close quarter infantry maps than BF3
  • Frostbite 2 engine is pushed further in BF4. Better effects, higher res textures, more detailed game worlds, etc.
  • BF3 will still be supported after Battlefield 4 launches.
  • There is plan of some sort of integration between BF3 and BF4. Could be Battlelog-only.
  • Battlelog will be updated for Battlefield 4 with more social features and more detailed stats.
  • Single-player and co-op will return, new writers involved this time.want from Battlefield 4!

If these listed details and features are true, a lot of questions are raised. If it's a modern setting - which it is - do BF3 players have to re-unlock the same weapons and mods if it's the same arsenal on Battlelog? Since this is the first next-gen Battlefield installment, what sort of visual details will be improved (i.e. will we see infantry getting in and out of vehicles)?

Can Battlefield 3 maps, since BF4 embraces the same setting and engine and BF3 maps were already made for higher player counts on PC, be ported over for BF3 Premium subscribers/DLC buyers? What will the Commander be able to do on the battlefield and for PC, will the game ever support modding or higher player counts?

Hopefully, we'll have many of these questions answered next week. The event takes place on the 26th and the day after the full Battlefield 4 announcement trailer will release. For now check out the teaser up top that EA released on Vine.

Battlefield 4 likely releases this fall for the PC and current/next-gen PlayStation & Xbox.

Follow me on Twitter @rob_keyes and let me know what changes you want made for BF4.

Sources: BF4Central, Vine