This year’s Battlefield game won’t be next-gen exclusive, EA affirms.
In a recent financial call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson clarified some of the comments made by DICE about the new Battlefield game it’s working on. When originally announced, the blog post described the project as “brought to life with the power of next-gen consoles and PCs”.

This caused rumours to stir that the new Battlefield might be ditching PS4 and Xbox One support, releasing solely on the next-generation PS5 and Xbox Series platforms.
Wilson puts those rumours to bed, saying:
“Battlefield will be available for both current-gen and next-gen as well our sports titles. The reference specifically from our prepared remarks was around the nature of gameplay.”
Andrew Wilson, EA CEO
Getting more specific, Wilson describes that the increased processing power and memory outputs of the new consoles mean that DICE can be more experimental with “physics, artificial intelligence and the immersive nature of the game”.
What does this mean for Battlefield 6?
In terms of what that means for the new Battlefield game, it likely means that we’ll see an increased player count on next-gen consoles versus the older ones. Aspects like the franchise classic destruction mechanics might also be toned down on the ageing hardware.
We’ve seen cross-generation Battlefield releases before. Both Battlefield 4 and Hardline released on the Xbox 360 and PS4 alongside their Xbox One and PS4 counterparts. Playing on the last-gen machines resulted in a server load of 32 players compared to the current gen’s 64.
Sticking with a release on current-gen platforms is likely a wise choice from EA. Millions of players are stuck playing on the older consoles, whether they like it or not. Across the world, gamers are still struggling to get their hands on next-generation hardware. Stock supplies are at an all-time low with Sony unable to keep up with demand.
Sadly, it doesn’t seem like the shortages will let up anytime soon. The superconductor shortage and increased demand for electronics mean that we could still be struggling to buy PS5’s in 2022.
The new Battlefield game is set to release before the end of 2021 and is heavily rumoured to be returning to modern combat. DICE confirmed yesterday that a reveal trailer for the title will drop sometime in June.
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[Featured Image Credit: EA Dice]
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