Next Battlefield Game Returns To Modern Setting And Makes Other Key Changes Fans Asked For

Electronic Arts has revealed new details on the next Battlefield game, confirming a modern-day setting and revealing the game will ditch features from Battlefield 2042 that divided fans.

Whereas recent Battlefield games took place in World War I, World War II, and the future, the new Battlefield game takes place in modern times, EA revealed in an IGN report. The first piece of concept art (see below) depicts what appears to be a European city, spanning both land and sea, with a fire ripping through a nearby forest. The scene looks very chaotic in the traditional Battlefield sense.

Additionally, the new Battlefield game will say goodbye to features from Battlefield 2042 that fans quickly and loudly said they did not like. Battlefield 2042 launched with maps that supported up to 128 players, and this was a new level of scale the Battlefield series had never seen. But fans didn't like it, as matches could feel empty, and the developers eventually reverted back to 64-player matches. The next Battlefield will settle on a number that is "more akin" to what past Battlefield games offered.

"Yeah, the 128-player, did it make it more fun? Like...doing the number for the sake of the number doesn't make any sense," Battlefield boss Vince Zampella said. "We're testing everything around what's the most fun. We are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields. I'd rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can't wait for you to see some of them."

Battlefield fans also voiced their displeasure with Battlefield 2042's "Specialist" characters, which replaced the traditional Class system. Zampella, who didn't come to EA until this decision was already made, applauded DICE for trying something new. But he stressed that Specialists--which were later dumped from Battlefield 2042 in a post-release update--won't come back.

"I wasn't there for 2042. I don't know what the rationale was, but for me, it's like the team tried something new," he said. "You have to applaud that effort. Not everybody liked it, but you got to try things. It didn't work. It didn't fit. Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we're going back to that."

Also in the interview, Zampella stressed that while Call of Duty is a competitor to Battlefield, he sees both franchises as offering something distinct to their fanbases.

"We're not looking to take down Call of Duty. We're making something that's different and we're making something that's us," he said, acknowledging that this new Battlefield game "has the possibility" to outsell Call of Duty.

It's still relatively early days, and there is no word yet on when the new Battlefield game will be released, though a report said it might be here as soon as October 2025. Intriguingly, Zampella said EA is going to announce a testing program for the next Battlefield game in 2025 to invite more fans to try the game before launch.

"That's kind of the core of what we have to do--get the community back on our side, get that trust back," he said. Whether or not this is some kind of open or closed beta, or a different type of test, remains to be seen.

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