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Battlefield VEA
In a move that technically may not be a “delay,” but is a surprise all the same, DICE has revealed that Battlefield V’s entry into the battle royale genre, Firestorm, will not arrive in the game until the spring, March 2019 specifically.
DICE rolled out a new roadmap for upcoming Battlefield content, which is really taking the games as service model to a new level, as even though technically it was never stated outright that Firestorm would be there at launch, I think nearly everyone planning to pick up the game was assuming that.
It’s hard to view this as anything but a blow for Battlefield V’s prospects, which was already delayed a month for additional polish (and to escape the launches of Black Ops 4 and Red Dead 2), but this move has taken even many dedicated fans by surprise.
The problem is that like Blackout was a selling point for the new Call of Duty, many players were looking forward to Firestorm as a fresh way to experience Battlefield. And while sure, it’s still coming, they now have to wait 3-4 months for it. That’s…not exactly going to inspire a ton of day one purchases for the crowd who was looking forward to that mode above the more standard campaign and multiplayer alternatives. It does not seem terribly likely that this was the initial plan for Firestorm, even if DICE isn’t commenting on this move being a “delay,” but rather just a part of a content rollout plan.
Battlefield VDICE
Literally four days ago I wrote an article about how the success of Black Ops 4 and the awkward positioning of Battlefield both in concept and release made BF5 feel like it was in a precarious position, even if it didn’t occupy the “death” release slot of last weekend between BO4 and RDR2. Now with no battle royale at launch as an added draw, needless to say I don’t think its prospects have improved, that’s for sure.
It’s unclear where the battle royale trend will be in March 2019, which will mark about a year or so since Fortnite really blew up the scene into a global phenomenon, piggybacking on PUBG’s success. It does seem like it’s on the decline, however, and I recently predicted that Blackout would probably mark the last truly major entry into the genre before the industry shifted and we moved on to the next thing, whatever that may be. It happened with hero shooters, and I already feel it happening with battle royale as well, though obviously playercounts are still high for the top titles. But when Firestorm arrives, it will feel very late, and possibly not very relevant.
I would love to know what is going on behind the scenes with Battlefield V and this mode. One of the curious things about this situation is that if any game seemed well positioned to make a large-scale BR mode it was DICE and Battlefield, given the already big maps and high playercounts. While there are definitely BR-specific differences in Firestorm, I do wonder what has taken so long/gone so wrong to produce a delay like this, but perhaps we’ll get more clarity someday.
What do you make of this surprise turn of events?
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy.
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In a move that technically may not be a “delay,” but is a surprise all the same, DICE has revealed that Battlefield V’s entry into the battle royale genre, Firestorm, will not arrive in the game until the spring, March 2019 specifically.
DICE rolled out a new roadmap for upcoming Battlefield content, which is really taking the games as service model to a new level, as even though technically it was never stated outright that Firestorm would be there at launch, I think nearly everyone planning to pick up the game was assuming that.
It’s hard to view this as anything but a blow for Battlefield V’s prospects, which was already delayed a month for additional polish (and to escape the launches of Black Ops 4 and Red Dead 2), but this move has taken even many dedicated fans by surprise.
The problem is that like Blackout was a selling point for the new Call of Duty, many players were looking forward to Firestorm as a fresh way to experience Battlefield. And while sure, it’s still coming, they now have to wait 3-4 months for it. That’s…not exactly going to inspire a ton of day one purchases for the crowd who was looking forward to that mode above the more standard campaign and multiplayer alternatives. It does not seem terribly likely that this was the initial plan for Firestorm, even if DICE isn’t commenting on this move being a “delay,” but rather just a part of a content rollout plan.
Literally four days ago I wrote an article about how the success of Black Ops 4 and the awkward positioning of Battlefield both in concept and release made BF5 feel like it was in a precarious position, even if it didn’t occupy the “death” release slot of last weekend between BO4 and RDR2. Now with no battle royale at launch as an added draw, needless to say I don’t think its prospects have improved, that’s for sure.
It’s unclear where the battle royale trend will be in March 2019, which will mark about a year or so since Fortnite really blew up the scene into a global phenomenon, piggybacking on PUBG’s success. It does seem like it’s on the decline, however, and I recently predicted that Blackout would probably mark the last truly major entry into the genre before the industry shifted and we moved on to the next thing, whatever that may be. It happened with hero shooters, and I already feel it happening with battle royale as well, though obviously playercounts are still high for the top titles. But when Firestorm arrives, it will feel very late, and possibly not very relevant.
I would love to know what is going on behind the scenes with Battlefield V and this mode. One of the curious things about this situation is that if any game seemed well positioned to make a large-scale BR mode it was DICE and Battlefield, given the already big maps and high playercounts. While there are definitely BR-specific differences in Firestorm, I do wonder what has taken so long/gone so wrong to produce a delay like this, but perhaps we’ll get more clarity someday.
What do you make of this surprise turn of events?
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy.
