Ahead of its Investor Day on September 17, EA shared new insights into its upcoming Battlefield game, along with the first official concept art, which IGN has revealed exclusively. EA has shared that the upcoming Battlefield title will mark a return to the franchise’s modern setting, reminiscent of Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4.

Vince Zampella, head of the Battlefield series and co-founder of Respawn Entertainment, emphasized that this new direction aims to restore what made Battlefield great during its peak era.

The game will abandon some of the features introduced in Battlefield 2042, including the 128-player matches and the Specialist system, which were met with mixed reactions from fans. Instead, the upcoming title will focus on the more traditional 64-player matches, paired with a return to the class-based system.

“So 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. 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,” Zampella said.

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This decision is intended to provide a more focused, dense gameplay experience, reflecting the franchise’s earlier successes. Zampella explained that Battlefield needs to reclaim its roots, noting that the core of the series is in modern, class-based combat, which resonated with fans in the Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 eras.

I mean, if you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it’s that Battlefield 3… Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern. And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we’ll see where it goes from there. But I think for me, it’s that peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it’s nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even. Those are kind of the heyday…although I would say 1942 also.

Zampella

The game will also introduce combat across multiple terrains, including land, sea, and air, promising expansive battles in detailed environments. Though no official release date has been confirmed, Zampella teased a community testing program slated for 2025.

This suggests that EA is taking its time to refine the game, making it the longest development period for a Battlefield game in over a decade. EA is also expanding its development team for this project, with studios like DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect, and Motive.

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