While yearly releases of popular franchises have become the norm in the video game industry these days, are developers in danger of driving triple-A titles into the ground this way?
This is definitely a concern of those at EA, which is why fans of the Battlefield series should not expect another true sequel for at least two more years. While speaking to investors, analyst Arvind Bhatia expressed how taking a break is a smart move for the future, and will help keep things fresh in the minds of FPS fans moving forward. Andrew Wilson (who is CEO at Electronic Arts) ties the delay to its upcoming release of Hardline , stating, “…clearly players want to experience the games we’re delivering for longer periods of time. Looking into next year, we will ensure that our players have enough time between releases to fully explore the depth and innovation in our shooter titles.”
Bhatia ended by doubling-down on the push-back being the absolute best thing for Battlefield overall. Touting their “increased confidence,” Bhatia states their “…decision to move Battlefield 5 will optimize the potential for the Battlefield franchise (and avoid franchise fatigue), and also should result in a more consistent revenue/EPS growth pattern for EA.”
EA’s latest entry in the series Battlefield: Hardline hits store shelves on March 17 th of next year.