It’s official: Battlefield V is returning to World War II (like I reported in March). Electronic Arts is rolling it out for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 19. If you get the Deluxe Edition, you will get “Early Enlister Access” beginning October 16, and you can begin playing a time-limited version October 11 if you subscribe to EA Access on Xbox One or Origin Access on PC.
The DICE studio spent some time today detailing the latest entry in its military shooter franchise, and it gave them some welcome news. Unlike Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Battlefield V will have a single-player campaign. Similar to Battlefield 1, this game’s War Stories try to explore the second World War by telling intimate tales about individuals. Battlefield V’s narrative will also take players around the globe, with vignettes set in Norway, Rotterdam, North Africa, and France. But EA and DICE are committing to a live-services model that will roll out new content — including War Stories missions — as part of its ongoing support.
But the Tides of War, which is what DICE is calling Battlefield V’s live services, won’t require players to pay for a Premium Pass or map packs — this game doesn’t have a Premium Pass or map packs. Instead, everyone who buys Battlefield V will get every new map at no additional charge. This will keep the player base unified, and it will give people a reason to come back to play the game every time new content drops. That is crucial for DICE because its new business model is all about cosmetic vanity items that players can purchase to improve the look of their units. EA was quick to point out that players cannot buy gameplay advantages.
Instead, players may focus on their “Company.” This is the collective soldiers and vehicles that players can customize to make their own. When you use one of those in battle, you’ll automatically pull it from your Company so that you are always rocking your favorite custom styles.
But beyond the business models and microtransactions, Battlefield V features several huge improvements and new features. DICE has overhauled its animation system to give characters a realistic, physics-based style of movement. For example, characters lift their legs higher when they’re running through water. Their jumping changes depending on the terrain under their feet. And players can go prone on their back and then do a complete roll in place to look in any direction.
Asked in the livestream if the game had a controversial “pay to win” model, senior producer Andreas Morrell said, “No.”
DICE is also bringing in the Combined Arms cooperative mode with procedurally generated missions, the Grand Operations with multi-day skirmishes that carry over across various maps and modes. And on top of all of this, DICE is thinking about ways to introduce more strategic thinking to Battlefield V with the concept of scarcity where players may not have all of their gear after respawning late in match.
We have a lot to say about Battlefield V, and you can read it all right here. But the reason we are writing so much is because this is shaping up as the most substantial DICE game ever, and it also seems to have the polish that could enable it to stand out in a crowded fall that will also include Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 from Activision and Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Games.