Another major franchise is now rumored to be considering adding a battle royale mode, just a day after news that Call of Duty's 2018 iteration will join in on this year's most popular gaming trend. According to the rumor, DICE is prototyping a battle royale mode for the forthcoming Battlefield 5 release later this year but the feature remains in testing and may or may not be included in Battlefield 5.

The battle royale prototype is described as similar in structure to both Fortnite Battle Royale and its predecessor, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. That implies the mode features 100 different players slowly fighting it out in a shrinking play area until just one is left standing. Whether other features, like parachuting into the area or picking up items like weapons and armor, are also included is unclear.

Due to Battlefield 5's battle royale mode only being a prototype, the report speculates that should DICE decide to release it, it could become available as a post-launch update. Fortnite Battle Royale's development path may be what DICE seeks to emulate with Battlefield 5. That is, DICE will release Battlefield 5 as a full, premium game and then eventually release a battle royale version of the game that is free-to-play.

ea play e3 2018

Should DICE decide to move forward with a Battlefield 5 battle royale mode, update, or free-to-play side release, the decision will likely be made and publicized during E3. EA confirmed that the next Battlefield was in development in late 2017 and was slated for release in 2018, but has yet to officially announce the game or its title. With just a half a year before the shooter's likely release, EA will want to advertise Battlefield 5 and its battle royale mode as much as possible.

A possible battle royale mode in Battlefield 5 later this year would be just one of an increasingly crowded field for the genre. Both PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale continue to be huge successes, a selection of smaller games from independent developers continue to be released month to month, and now we're learning that major franchises including Call of Duty plan to enter the fray in 2018. For fans of the genre, the near future is very exciting.

Stay tuned for more information regarding Battlefield 5 in the weeks between now and E3, which begins in June.

Source: Venture Beat