While Call of Duty has been thriving over recent years, Battlefield has certainly struggled. BF 2042 is great now but it took a good year or so after launch to get there. With everyone eager to see how Battlefield can turn things around and truly grab us, a new report claims the next entry will have a free-to-play Battlefield battle royale mode that will once again put the iconic FPS franchise up against Call of Duty Warzone on PS5 and Xbox.
Though EA has yet to lift the veil on the next Battlefield game, Insider Gaming claims that developer Ripple Effect (previously known as DICE LA) is working on a battle royale experience to help broaden one of the best FPS game franchises. Aiming to steal some of Call of Duty Warzone’s spotlight with a similar strategy, this BF battle royale will reportedly be free-to-play and tie into the next game – which is believed to be launching in October 2025 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
This report suggests that the potential new PS5 game and new Xbox game will feature two distinct modes: a standard BR mode and ‘Gauntlet’, an objective-based mode that see players competing to complete tasks to survive into the next round.
Given its stiff competition, we’re holding out hope that this new experience will land as one of the best battle royale games – though Battlefield’s history with the genre isn’t all that promising. In Battlefield V, Criterion Games and DICE attempted to jump on the emerging battle royale trend early with Battlefield Firestorm. Though it was far from terrible, it was by no means groundbreaking. Furthermore, fans weren’t (and, frankly, still aren’t) too fussed about a battle royale experience. To compound its misery, the sensation that was Call of Duty Warzone dropped less than a year after Firestorm arrived.
Though the mode was absent from Battlefield 2042 – removed in favor of the disappointing extraction mode Hazard Zone – it looks as though Firestorm could be returning, at least as a spiritual successor.
Alongside this BR experience, the next Battlefield game will reportedly take the series back to the series’ roots, with 64-player matches, classes, and a larger focus on destruction. We can only hope that Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 and 4 are the inspiration to make the perfect brew – and quite possibly one of the best multiplayer games.
While Battlefield has long been in a strange position, repeatedly underwhelming its passionate fans, Rainbow Six Siege is the gift that keeps giving – with no sequel planned. As we all eagerly await the next evolution of Battlefield, we can at least treat ourselves to the Star Wars Battlefront Collection which gives us a strong dose of nostalgia that’s been a long time coming.