In years past, Battlefield used to be known as Call of Duty's main competitor in the first-person shooter market, with both franchises churning out quality releases with each passing year. Fast-forward to the future, however, and Battlefield appears to have trouble treading water, with a string of recent projects amassing bad reviews and making it clear that the franchise needs to return to the drawing board for some fresh inspiration. The sleeping giant faces two options; hunker down and weather the storm by pushing ahead with more entries, or taking a break and keeping its head down for 2023, at the very least.
DICE appears to be considering the former, with rumors of a new installment - Battlefield 2143 - in the pipeline, but such a decision could prove rash, if not fatal, for the once-popular franchise. Considering how some of the series' previous releases flopped - a few in quite spectacular fashion - it might be an ill-advised approach to hope new entries perform better in the gaming community without having a complete understanding of why the franchise has struggled in recent years. A few things are to blame for the problems of Battlefield, and DICE must address each concern before producing a new entry.
Battlefield's Struggles Must Be Addressed Before A New Release
The most concerning of Battlefield's struggles is its apparent inability to create new content for its recent releases. Traditionally, Battlefield's selling point against competitors like Call of Duty and Rainbow Six Siege has been its compelling multiplayer gameplay. However, new ideas have stagnated for some time at DICE, as there has barely been any distinction in gameplay mechanics between its latest projects. Minor cosmetic improvements have been commonplace, with hardly any ground-breaking change in Battlefield's core components. The multiplayer mode has been plagued by bugs and glitches as well, so it's not hard to see why the community has gotten bored and tired of Battlefield. Gamers can only take so much buggy, recycled content with a slightly different coat of paint before taking their patronage elsewhere.
While established franchises pride themselves on cultivating a diehard fan base of gamers, developers must always leave room for expansion. "The more, the merrier" is the saying, and series like The Elder Scrolls have thrived thanks to their approach to newcomers, providing easily understood mechanics in their games. With Battlefield, however, the steep learning curve required for first-time gamers to get the hang of Battlefield's structure is repellent to newbies. The best-performing games are generally easy for the average gamer to get to grips with, and Battlefield's present composition of complex mechanics does not help its dwindling stocks in the gaming community. DICE must revamp its gameplay systems with new players in mind if it is to turn the fortunes of Battlefield around.
Additionally, the developer can consider buffing up Battlefield's content with a single-player campaign, with the last singleplayer mode featured in Battlefield 5. Intriguingly, large-scale warfare - which is Battlefield's area of strength - isn't adequately displayed in Battlefield 5's offline play. While multiplayer games are in vogue, gamers still enjoy old-fashioned gameplay, evidenced by the uproar from the community at Electronic Arts' single-player tweet a while ago. DICE could kickstart a comeback for the Battlefield franchise with an expansion of the single-player mode in terms of lore and gameplay, appealing to the niche crowd of gamers who predominantly engage in solitary gaming.
Battlefield's lack of new content, buggy multiplayer, and steep learning curve have caused it to lose its luster to gamers. To turn things around, DICE should focus on creating new and innovative gameplay mechanics and expanding the single-player campaign to appeal to a wider audience. The future of Battlefield hangs in the balance, and it's crucial that DICE takes the necessary steps to ensure its survival, as the franchise may not withstand another dead-on-arrival entry.
Battlefield 2042 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.