Unfortunately for fans of the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield 2042 was a dud. It launched with numerous bugs, including some that made it impossible to hit your opponent, and generally felt unfinished at launch. While this franchise of games launching with bugs is nothing new, Battlefield 2042 also launched with a shocking lack of features such as a voice chat system or a scoreboard option which only added to the feeling of it not being a game that was ready at launch.
Since the game came out, the devs over at DICE have been working to update the game and fix many of these issues. While it’s definitely in a better state than it was at launch the damage has unfortunately already been done and excitement around the game is pretty low. This has led to investors at EA asking the CEO of the company, Andrew Wilson, about the plans for the game in the future. In a recent earnings call, Wilson said that EA is playing the long game when it comes to Battlefield, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to continue the same approach they’ve always had with it.
This is one of the great franchises in our industry, built by one of the great teams in our industry. And our expectation is that we’ll continue to grow and be a really important part of our portfolio for many, many years to come. We’ve got incredible leadership over that team now. They’re rethinking the development process from the ground up and really using kind of the Vince Zampella/Respawn model of get to the fun as quickly as possible.
The Zampella/Respawn model that Wilson is referring to is in reference to Respawn Entertainment’s hit game, Apex Legends, and one of its founders Vince Zampella. Back in December, Zampella reportedly took over as head of the franchise. His resume of first-person shooters is strong including games like Titanfall and Call of Duty. With a history like that, it makes sense why Wilson would want to follow that kind of model when restructuring the Battlefield franchise.