Battlefield Bad Company 2 Title

Battlefield 3, despite releasing practically in beta form, is the fastest-selling game in EA's library so it's no surprise that a numbered sequel was on the fast-track for release. To help promote Medal of Honor: Warfighter, EA announced Battlefield 4 early last year, promising beta access to those who pre-order the latest installment in the now-re-canceled Medal of Honor franchise. But what about Battlefield: Bad Company 3?

The two Bad Company games are story-based installments of the Battlefield franchise but they may have been made obsolete by the even more popular numbered Battlefield titles. We know that with Battlefield 4, developer DICE is trying very hard to focus more on characters and story. Where does that leave the future of the Bad Company series?

After the BF4 confirmation, DICE community manager Ian Tornay tried to explain:

“I can tell you that it’s not due to any lack of love for BC inside of DICE. Everyone I’ve talked to there is very proud and fond of it.

What features from BC would you like to see in future games (which is not to say we won’t make another)?

Would be very interested to nail down for myself what it is about BC that is special to everyone and how we can incorporate that magic.”

But we know the reason: money. Battlefield 3 not only sold well, but it was very popular in the PC market, even helping boost sales in the hardware industry. It's easier to market and build off of the buzz surrounding the next-gen Frostbite 2 engine (now called Frostbite 3).

A month later, last August, DICE executive producer Patrick Bach followed up:

“The Bad Company IP is still something we love and it’s very dear to me because I worked on both titles. We have no information with where we are to a sequel to Bad Company, so I can’t tell you anything about that IP.”

Just like Mirror's Edge 2, there was hope from DICE that Battlefield: Bad Company 3 could be being developed in the background for future release. Unfortunately for Bad Company fans, while Mirror's Edge 2 is all but confirmed for an E3 2013 unveil next week, a new Bad Company game is not currently being developed.

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Note the specific end of the tweet, referring to "for the year." With Medal of Honor again ruined, but EA desperately aiming for a major shooter release EVERY fall to compete with Activision's Call of Duty franchise, is it possible that Bad Company 3 could be their alternate series for fall 2014? Or will EA use their new shooter IPs, like Destiny or one of their unannounced Star Wars games, to fill that gap?

We did see Bad Company 3 listed on a developer resume from 2009-2011 so if that is true, the project was repurposed and maybe its roots are found in BF4, or it was canned/put on hold as EA shifted focus to maximize profit.

Battlefield 4 releases October 29, 2013 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and after for the PS4 and Xbox One.

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Let me know on Twitter @rob_keyes if EA should bother with Bad Company 3!