Losing Faith
Studio DICE has stated that it intends to entirely focus its efforts on the beleaguered Battlefield franchise going forward, eschewing new IPs and alternate franchises such as the studio’s cult series Mirror’s Edge while it ensures Battlefield 2042 becomes the team’s core release.
Speaking in her first interview since taking the role, DICE’s new General Manager Rebecka Coutaz told GamesIndustry.biz that the Battlefield franchise was the now core focus of the studio. In particular, Coutaz notes that DICE is committed to its long-term plans for blah shooter Battlefield 2042, with support expected to roll out for another three years at the very least. Asked about whether this meant Mirror’s Edge or any other projects were off-the-table, Coutaz was very clear about DICE’s direction:
“Totally,” she confirmed. “We are only focusing on Battlefield 2042. There is no time for anything else and this is what we want to do. In three years, we want to be the first-person shooter powerhouse that DICE deserves to be, and that is what we’re going for.”
“The team is here to make Battlefield, and they’re passionate about Battlefield. We have many Battlefield veterans. So it’s important for us to improve Battlefield 2042 and the experience that we can provide to our players. We owe them that.”
Battlefield 2042, which launched on PC and consoles back in November 2021, was met with mediocre critical reviews and would go on to become one of the Steam platform’s worst-reviewed games, with critics and players citing chaotic gameplay, boring maps, and a litany of bugs. DICE and publisher Electronic Arts have since spoken of their desire to correct course, and have already rolled out numerous hotfixes, rebalances, updates, and new content drops in efforts to rescue the sinking vessel.
While DICE should be praised for its commitment to the product, with a clear desire to restore the faith of the Battlefield fanbase, there’s one other Faith that I, personally, would be far more interested in seeing restored. Mirror’s Edge is hardly the most popular, successful, or most exciting of franchises, but it has its own niche and dedicated community, many of whom saw the writing on the wall years ago. This news does not come as a shocking surprise.
We get it. Mirror’s Edge didn’t sell half a billion copies. It doesn’t have rolling multiplayer elements, it doesn’t facilitate the potential for DLC, microtransactions, or loot boxes. And studios have to make millions upon millions of dollars with every single release or the publisher fires/disbands everybody. Same as it ever was and ever will be. We get it.
Regardless, it’s still disappointing to see creativity and design take a fatal fall at the behest of not making All The Money. I’m just glad that we got the two titles that we did. Solid, gorgeous, engaging adventures that I play and enjoy today, and probably will tomorrow, and probably will for years to come.
So, here’s to your semi-annual military shooter.
“We want to be proud of Battlefield 2042” [Gamesindustry.biz]
