The Battlefield franchise is one of the most well-known among the competitive and saturated genre of first-person shooters, first released in 2002. As is to be expected of such a longstanding IP, the series has undergone significant shifts in setting and core gameplay over the years, to varying levels of success.
While some recent Battlefield installments have been successful and well-received, it is no secret that Battlefield 2042, the most recent release, has created quite a rift among the franchise's fan base. With 2042 creating some question marks regarding the future of the franchise, there are certain elements that the next Battlefield title has to get absolutely correct.
The Setting of the Next Battlefield
One of the most contentious aspects of any Battlefield release is the period in which it is set, with the franchise being renowned for shifting drastically between different eras of human history between releases. While much of the core gameplay experience remains the same despite these different settings, the difference in tone and available technology that these different settings foster has an inexorable impact on Battlefield games as a whole.
While the series has most often shifted between more contemporary warfare and the World Wars, recent trends seem to indicate a fan preference for the more historic option. For example, the WW1 and WW2 titles of Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 5 have had huge spikes in their player counts recently, skyrocketing past the much more recent release of the semi-futuristic Battlefield 2042. The next Battlefield title would do well to capitalize on this, moving back toward the previous success the series has found in more archaic settings.
A Narratively Driven Campaign
An element of Battlefield games that has fallen to the wayside with recent releases is that of long-form campaigns with a consistent and expanding narrative. Recent titles like BF1 and BF5 did feature a form of a single-player mode, although these were episodic War Stories that told brief, albeit impactful, tales about different aspects of the conflicts they were set within.
Despite the interest surrounding this new single-player mode, it remains that the stories were too short to warrant a significant level of memorability and emotional connection. Given how the characters of any War Story were entirely limited to one or two levels, there was little to no room for significant development that the more traditional extended narratives of past campaigns fostered. Given how Battlefield 2042 controversially opted not to include a campaign at all, there is clearly a need for the franchise to step back into a slower character-driven single-player experience.
A Return To the Four Class System
The popular multiplayer of the Battlefield franchise has long been typified by four distinct classes that players can choose to play as. Offering four unique combat roles such as medics and long-range recon, this class system broke the multiplayer of Battlefield into easily identifiable and smartly compartmentalized roles that fostered teamwork and strategy. Again, this was something that was done away with in the most recent release, with Battlefield 2042 having to add classes post-launch due to fan backlash.
This should be the norm from launch for the next Battlefield release, with the title not having to deviate too significantly from the pre-established franchise norms that saw the series become so successful to begin with. While the next Battlefield game will of course need its own standout features, there are clearly some elements from past titles that are in dire need of a return to recapture the desire of the fan base.
