Battlefield Brand Not Hurt

As developer DICE prepares for their latest DLC pack to hit Battlefield 4, many gamers are still left reeling from the game's initial launch problems. For almost half-a-year now, Battlefield 4 has struggled to deliver an optimum experience, let alone an entertaining one.

However, despite those issues, DICE and Electronic Arts still believe in their Battlefield brand, and don't think any significant damage has been done to it. In fact, EA's latest triple-A release continues to sell well according to CFO Blake Jorgensen.

In an interview with Gamespot, Jorgensen was put to task regarding the launch of Battlefield 4 and whether or not the brand as a whole has been tarnished. Jorgensen acknowledges that Battlefield is an important piece of Electronic Arts' library, perhaps the most important piece, but he has not seen any damage. On the contrary, gamers, according to Jorgensen, have been "very responsive" to the regular Battlefield 4 updates and patches, as those seemingly mean to product is improving.

"We haven't seen any damage. Clearly we're very focused on protecting that brand..."We've also tried to provide extra content to the consumers to make sure they keep coming back and playing the game and we're finding that it's working very well. I don't see that there's a damage issue. I think for us it's making sure that we're providing great gameplay for the consumer and we'll continue to do that.""

EA and DICE have also bolstered their flagship title with new content, which Jorgensen says keeps players coming back and playing the game. New content was put on hold following Battlefield 4's deluge of sever problems, but now that most of those have been fixed DICE is moving forward with their DLC plans. Unfortunately, so much time has passed between launch and stability that it will be DICE's Los Angeles studio that takes over developmental duties on post-release content. DICE's main studio has likely had to move onto the next Battlefield, presumably coming in 2016.

Battlefield 4 Xbox One Update

But, not so fast: Jorgensen teased in the interview that Battlefield will be an important release during EA's fiscal year 2015. That fiscal year starts next month and runs, as the name implies, for a full year.

While we are likely at least a few months away from an official announcement from EA, this could be our first confirmation that Visceral Games is, in fact, working on a police-themed spin-off for Battlefield. It's worth mentioning that this is only just a rumor at this point, but the evidence continues to mount.

After Danger Close Games failed to revitalize the Medal of Honor franchise, it seemed likely that they would cut their losses and focus on positioning Battlefield as an annual release. If this police-themed game is announced at E3 2014 then it's a safe bet to say that's what EA plans to do.

Do you think that the Battlefield brand has been hurt by the launch problems of Battlefield 4? Will a move to an annual cycle impact the franchise's appeal, even if this year's game is police-themed?

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Source: Gamespot