Highlights

  • The next release for the Battlefield franchise should wait until 2025 to avoid competing against the highly anticipated 2024 plans for Call of Duty.
  • Battlefield 2042 initially faced backlash due to its lack of expected content, including a single-player story and traditional class system. However, recent post-launch updates have revived the game's popularity.
  • DICE needs to get the next Battlefield release right to repair the franchise's reputation. Battlefield 2042's growing popularity gives DICE the breathing room it needs to wait until 2025 to release something.

The next release for the Battlefield franchise will arguably be the most important in its history, with the IP needing a real boost following the unfavorable launch of 2021's Battlefield 2042. While there is not a lot of information regarding the next release for the franchise, it seems sensible that it should avoid a 2024 release date at all costs.

Despite its pitfalls, Battlefield 2042 has faced a resurgence in popularity in recent months thanks to some smart post-launch updates. DICE should continue this and give more time to any future projects for the IP. At the same time, Battlefield will need to make up its lost ground against the Call of Duty franchise, and CoD's 2024 plans may be too popular for a new Battlefield to realistically compete against.

While a new Battlefield release is expected in the near future, the title has not yet been officially announced by DICE.

battlefield_no_hero_shooter_feature
Related
Why a Battlefield Hero Shooter Could Never Work

Although the franchise recently dabbled in hero shooter features, this is ultimately a bad choice for Battlefield to explore further.

A New Battlefield Would Be Better Off With a 2025 Release

battlefield 2025 release

Battlefield 2042 Has Had a Long Road

Battlefield 2042's famously problematic launch stemmed from the lack of expected content that it possessed upon release, with many fans instantly labeling it as a rushed project. Despite foregoing fan-favorite Battlefield experiences like a single-player story, the core gameplay of 2042 lacked things like a traditional class system and even in-game leaderboards at launch.

The player counts of Battlefield 2042 across all platforms quickly dropped only weeks after its release, with the franchise slipping further away from victory in its longstanding competition against FPS giant Call of Duty. With that being said, some fantastic recent in-game seasons have revived the community of the game, with new maps and experiences combining with free-to-play weekends to give the title a new lease of life.

Still, the initial negativity surrounding Battlefield 2042 has created a monumental task for its successor, and DICE needs to get the next release absolutely right to avoid further damage to the franchise's reputation. A 2024 release for the next Battlefield game would undoubtedly step on the toes of the recent success that Battlefield2042 has enjoyed. DICE should use the time it has bought itself to focus on 2025 and beyond instead.

Battlefield Should Avoid Competing Against Call of Duty in 2024

Aside from this, the industry is already expecting huge things from Call of Duty in 2024, with the franchise moving away from its recent focus on the Modern Warfare reboot. 2024's CoD release is rumored to be a brand-new Black Ops experience set during the Gulf War, with the iconic studio Treyarch having had a long period of uninterrupted development for the project. This seems like a huge deviation from CoD's recent identity that will attract a lot of attention, and the next Battlefield would be wise to distance itself from Call of Duty's 2024 plans.

Interestingly, information has even been circulating around what 2025 may hold for Call of Duty, with rumors pointing towards a semi-futuristic sequel to Black Ops 2. This project seems to be more in-line with the recent Modern Warfare releases for the IP, likely possessing a lot of remade content from BO2 in the way of maps and weapons. The familiarity that a game like that would possess would be perfect for a new Battlefield game to contrast later, making a 2025 release a much safer route for the franchise. It remains to be seen what the next Battlefield game will hold, but it is very important that DICE lets 2042 stabilize even further while dodging a possible collision with Call of Duty's prospects for 2024.