Battlefield 6 (now confirmed to be Battlefield 2042) won't be a next-gen only title after all, EA has confirmed.
The game is set to release on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC but despite initial rumors pointing to a next-gen only release, EA has now revealed that the game will also come to last-gen consoles. And that might disappoint those who were hoping the game would leave the older hardware behind.
During the company’s full-year earnings call (thanks, VGC), EA CEO Andrew Wilson revealed that the game will also come to PS4 and Xbox One, a trend that has continued despite Sony and Microsoft's new consoles arriving in November, 2020.
“Battlefield will be available for both current-gen and next-gen as will our sports titles,” Wilson said.
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EA had previously alluded to the fact that Battlefield 6 was designed specifically for next-gen platforms, but Wilson has since clarified what the company’s earlier remarks meant and stressed that the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions unlock new opportunities.
"The reference specifically from our prepared remarks was around the nature of the gameplay – what we can do with the fidelity of the game, what we can do with the physics, artificial intelligence, and the immersive nature of the game.
"And in the case of Battlefield, what we can do with respect to the amount of players that we can have in the game, and the nature of destruction and those all-new Battlefield moments that are truly next-gen opportunities that we are able to do in the context of our next-gen franchises because of the increased processing power and memory and output of the new consoles."
It seems, then, that Battlefield 6 on PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S might support more players, with Wilson previously saying that the game will "bring massive and immersive battles to life with more players than ever". Previous entries in the series have topped out at 64 players.
Generation game
Wilson was pressed as to whether a cross-generation release would impact the game, though it seems he didn’t have any concerns.
"With respect to current generation versus next generation titles, or maybe we should say current generation versus past generation platform titles, this has been done exceptionally well for decades," Wilson responded.
He added, "I had the great fortune of growing up in this company and building games on multiple generations, and I think when you think about our infrastructure around our Frostbite team, our digital services teams, and our game teams, you have unbelievable experience getting the very best out of the past generation consoles to ensure that even as we move to the next generation, we’re getting more and more out of the old generation platforms, and so those games are going to look great.
"When you think about new platform generations, again, with the advances that we make in Frostbite, with the advances that we make in our digital ecosystem, and with the advances that we’re making at a feature design level with the new unlocks that come from power, the games on next generation consoles are going to be extraordinary."
EA’s chief financial officer Black Jorgenson reiterated Wilson’s stance that Battlefield 6 will be “great” on next-gen and last-gen systems, but that those who buy the game on PS5 or Xbox Series X will experience something "even more spectacular".
Survival of the fittest
But will Battlefield 6 have a battle royale mode to rival Call of Duty’s popular Warzone? Wilson didn’t have anything to share at this time.
"Nothing to announce at the moment on either an annualised release of Battlefield and/or the nature of the modes in the upcoming game," Wilson said. “We’re going to talk about a lot around that in the months to come, starting next month with our reveal trailer, which I had the chance of seeing a work-in-progress last week and it is incredible what the team has been able to do in the context of next generation consoles, you know epic scale battles, unbelievable player count, destruction is really incredible, and there’s some very innovative and creative modes for the future of the franchise.
"The game has everything fans love about Battlefield. We’re excited to reveal the game to fans next month and share a lot more over the summer."
Battlefield’s official Twitter account teased that an Battlefield 6 announcement could be set for June, with the likelihood being that we’ll finally see the game’s first trailer in action. While it’s still unclear what exactly the reveal trailer will entail, it will apparently showcase Battlefield 6’s extreme weather conditions, and could include robot dogs and wacky cosmetics.
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