Debuting in 2002 with Battlefield 1942, the Battlefield franchise has come a long way in the last two decades. From World War 2 Pacific arenas to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, and even the futuristic cities of the year 2142, Battlefield has worn many faces over the years. However, none have been quite so beloved as the Battlefield: Bad Company series, which fans are still desperate to see a third installment of.
Releasing in 2008 and 2010 respectively, Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2 acted as the first big steps into the modern age of gaming. Coming right after Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142, Bad Company used the seventh generation of consoles to great avail, showing what next-generation gaming could look like. And coming before Battlefield 3, the Bad Company series defined what the franchise would become in the future. Over a decade later, fans are still asking for EA to create a Battlefield: Bad Company 3, and the publisher is just leaving money on the table by not delivering one.
Battlefield: Bad Company 3 Needs to Happen
One of the biggest selling points of the original Battlefield: Bad Company game was its destructible environments. A feature that would go on to define Battlefield moving forward, Bad Company let players destroy 99% of its open environments. From houses to walls to scenery, players could blow it all up, and that level of player-freedom just wasn't that common back in 2008. Though its enemy AI wasn't great, and its multiplayer needed ironing out, Battlefield: Bad Company was a true next-gen game in the franchise, and one of the few truly next-gen games of the time.
In 2010, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 released, improving on its predecessor in every way. Though its single-player campaign was still a little too predictable, the game's environments, destruction physics, and gunplay were all elevated significantly. With the Bad Company series releasing alongside Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare franchise, the competition was strong, but Bad Company still managed to carve out its own unique identity, and a third installment could do exactly the same now.
For over a decade, fans have been asking EA to make Battlefield: Bad Company 3. Fans long for a Battlefield game that returns the franchise to its base roots, focusing on a tight single-player campaign and the game's physics engine. With Battlefield: Hardline, Battlefield 5, and Battlefield 2042 all being disappointments in fans' eyes, EA needs to do whatever it can to ensure a win, and the easiest way to do that is to just give fans exactly what they want.
Of course, game development isn't as easy as that, and EA can't just push out a mediocre Battlefield: Bad Company 3, or it would risk losing its fan-base for good. Instead, EA should take Battlefield back to the drawing board, and break down exactly what made the Bad Company series so beloved and unique. Fans remember the impressive physics engine, the single-player campaign with a surprising amount of charm, and the intense, rewarding multiplayer. While fans enjoyed the open-ended environments at the time, EA and DICE have gone a little too far with it in recent entries, continuing to expand the map size and player count so that it's reached a point where it can take minutes for a player to reach the objective. A hypothetical Battlefield: Bad Company 3 is the perfect excuse to deliver a smaller-scale Battlefield game that takes less development time, and could potentially generate the most hype and commercial success in the series' recent memory.