I was browsing through some early-morning gaming news today when, after seeing mention of the latest entry in the Battlefield series, I nearly spat my cup of tea all over the keyboard.
In a story titled ‘What’s wrong with AAA games? The development of the next Battlefield has answers‘ on Ars Technica, I read the most astounding paragraph:
While [Battlefield] 2042 struggled, competitors Call of Duty and Fortnite were posting astonishing player and revenue numbers, thanks in large part to the popularity of their Battle Royale modes.
EA’s executive leadership believed Battlefield had the potential to stand toe-to-toe with them, if the right calls were made and enough was invested.
A lofty player target was set for Glacier: 100 million players over a set period of time that included post-launch.
From the release of the first Battlefield game in 2002 through to the release of Battlefield 2042, the series had sold a total of 88 million copies. Total. That’s counting Battlefield 2, Vietnam, 2142, Hardline, 1, V, all of them.
And Electronic Arts executives, living in the same world we’re all living in, working in the same video game industry that is falling apart in large part through their own malpractice, look at those numbers, look at the performance of the last Battlefield game and want this one to have 100 million players?
To try to meet that goal, the Ars report says EA will be releasing a free-to-play Battle Royale mode, have brought in a ton of extra developers, set a budget of $400 million and have now…blown way past that, while also shuttering the studio that had been tasked with developing the next Battlefield’s singleplayer campaign, work that has now had to be farmed out to three other studios.
This is a commercial death cult.
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