Battlefield: Hardline releases in March, 5 months behind schedule, and the first-person shooter’s executive producer says that delaying it was “the right call.”
“Earlier last year, we had assumed that by now the game would have launched and we’d be spending our days and nights online playing with all of you,” said Steve Papoutsis in an open letter to the community. “But we got some pretty pointed feedback after our early beta that you wanted more. And we listened.”
Hardline is an offshoot of the main Battlefield franchise, famous for its large-scale battles and focus on teamwork. The first beta test for Battlefield: Hardline left many gamers unimpressed, with it feeling more like a downloadable content pack for Battlefield 4 than a standalone experience. Publisher Electronic Arts — which oversaw a disastrous launch period for Battlefield 4 — decided Hardline needed work and called for a delay last June.
According to Papoutsis, this extra time has enabled Visceral Games, previously responsible for the critically acclaimed survival-horror Dead Space series, to make major improvements to Battlefield Hardline.
“The improvements the team has added to the game with the extra time are making Battlefield Hardline the complete first-person shooter experience we set out to deliver,” he said.
He promised a second beta before launch on all platforms — PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
“There will be another MP beta for all platforms that will showcase a small slice of the game and will also help us continue to test stability as we prepare for launch,” he said. “Hopefully you’ll see in March that we’ve not only been listening, but we’ve been busy acting on what we’re hearing.”