The runaway success of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has had a widespread impact on the gaming industry as a whole, with the battle royale genre becoming the new popular game mode for shooters. Since PUBG was released on early access, we've seen other games copy its battle royale format, including Fortnite and Paladins: Champions of the Realm. Now the next game that may take inspiration from PUBG has been revealed, and it's none other than Battlefield.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently spoke about PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and the innovations it has made in the shooter genre. Wilson praised the way PUBG has changed the way people play shooters, and revealed that the company's Battlefield teams are looking at the popular battle royale shooter while developing new games in the series.
"[...] that doesn't mean just kind of PUBG replicas inside of the Battlefield universe, but it does mean that our Battlefield teams...are looking at how they innovate in every aspect of the game, including core gameplay and map design."
Wilson's comments leave the door open for a full-blown battle royale mode being included in the next Battlefield game. However, Wilson's language also suggests that while the next Battlefield may be inspired by some aspects of PUBG, it may not necessarily materialize as a battle royale mode.
If the next Battlefield game, which is set to release in October 2018, does include a battle royale mode, it wouldn't be all that surprising. After all, battle royale game modes are the hot trend for shooters nowadays, and it would make sense for Battlefield to cash in on the craze. Furthermore, the Battlefield games have always been about high player counts, so taking the 64 player battles from previous games up to 100 seems like a logical step forward for the franchise.
Besides Wilson's comments about PUBG, it's also interesting to note that there are apparently multiple Battlefield teams. While Wilson could simply be referring to the Battlefield DLC created by DICE Los Angeles, we know that DICE LA is also working on unannounced projects. This could be an indication that DICE LA is working on the long-rumored Battlefield: Bad Company 3, and if not, another Battlefield spinoff or sequel.
Battlefield 2018 is in development for unspecified consoles for release in October 2018.
Source: IGN