EA: there is going to be a Battlefield 4

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 10 November, 2011

Shock. Horror.

The first DLC for Battlefield 3 isn't out yet - but that hasn't stopped EA from confirming the next game in the series.

"There is going to be a Battlefield 4", EA has said.

Electronic Arts president Frank Gibeau confirmed the company's intention to release the shooter sequel during a keynote at the University of California. His comment was then Tweeted by attendees.

The news comes as no surprise - Battlefield 3 is the fastest-selling EA game ever and has shifted a whopping five million copies.

Afterwards, an EA spokesperson told IGN: "Frank was speaking broadly about the Battlefield brand - a brand that EA is deeply passionate about and a fan community that EA is committed to."

On the eve of Battlefield 3's launch, DICE told Eurogamer it was the Swedish studio's hope that it would one day get the opportunity to make Battlefield 4.

"This feels like day one now," executive producer Patrick Bach said. "It's exciting. The whole Frostbite 2 thing has opened up a big landscape ahead of us so we can do whatever we want."

But will Battlefield 4 launch for this generation of consoles, or the next?

What we do know is the PC version of Battlefield 3 offers us a glimpse what gamers can expect from the next-generation of consoles.

"If anyone would build a new console today, that would be the result," Bach said.

"At least. Probably more, because it's classic PC technology. We know everything about multi-threading now. We know everything about multi-graphics card solutions now. If someone built a console where the specs are that or more, we have the technology to do something. We could port the game to that console tomorrow."

DICE built Battlefield 3 using its new Frostbite 2 engine, designed to future proof the studio and work with the next Xbox and PlayStation.

Bach said the next-generation is a case of more horsepower - in particular multiple processors and graphics cards in a single unit.

"There's nothing we know about now that the new consoles would do differently, rather do more," Bach explained. "More processors. Bigger memory pools. Everything we have and more.

"The big step is to go from single processor to multi-processor. Single graphics card to multi-graphics card. To multi-memory. Do you do multiple memory pools or one memory pool? Since we can handle both consoles now, we control that as well. We have all the streaming systems. We have whatever we might need for the future.

"I would be surprised if there were something we couldn't do with the next-generation of consoles."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 3 months ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • zegerman1942 #1 4 months ago

    64 player on next gen console :) HOOYA!

  • King_of_Hyrule #2 4 months ago

    Battlefield 4 is so much better than Modern Warfare 4, it takes real skill etc etc, no way MW4 is much better look at all the sales figures etc etc

    Looking forward to the next 2 years :-P

  • Shikasama #3 4 months ago

    People still won't have learnt how to spot.

  • adofessex #4 4 months ago

    Bad Company 3 with DLC for 2143 (similar to how they did Vietnam) then Battlefield 4

  • bobfish09 #5 4 months ago

    The question is, are they going to make it yearly or alternate with Bad Company or Medal of Honor?

  • Benno #6 4 months ago

    it will probably come out this time next year, and be exactly the same

  • Lunatic4ever #7 4 months ago

    hell yeah,kick it!

  • arcam #8 4 months ago

    So what are they going to do to differentiate Bad Company?

    In my eyes, Bad Company was the smaller console Battlefield with single player, while Battlefield was the big multiplayer battle experience. Now, they both seem too similar to justify two separate franchises.

  • zegerman1942 #9 4 months ago

    @Shikasama hahahahaha +1 for sure :)

  • Bennyjj81 #10 4 months ago

    Dear EA,

    If this is indeed true then this time please keep your gob shut and let DICE do all the talking.

    Ta very much.

  • TelexStar #11 4 months ago

    I realise I fit squarely in the minority for saying this but I really didn't like BF3. Coming from Bad Company 2 (which I loved) I was so looking forward to it and it just didn't deliver for me. I wasn't interested in MW3 before I played BF3 but in the end I actually traded BF3 in for MW3. Talk about irony!

  • pauleyc #12 4 months ago

    @arcam

    Bad Company is Battlefield with a cheesy single-player storyline (as opposed to BF3's serious yet utterly disjointed excuse for a SP campaign).

    That said, I really hope DICE bring back Marlowe, Taggart and Sweetwater before they start with BF4.

  • sh4m4n #13 4 months ago

    @bobfish09 2012 next MOH, 2013 BF4, 2014 BC3

  • AndyBeans #14 4 months ago

    "What we do know is the PC version of Battlefield 3 offers us a glimpse what gamers can expect from the next-generation of consoles."

    It's nice of DICE to admit that BF3 wasn't designed to run on current consoles, just a pity they didn't let gamers know this before they wasted their money.

  • adofessex #15 4 months ago

    @TelexStar although I am enjoying BF3, I feel that if BF:BC2 had the same engine as BF3 it would be the better game.

  • bobfish09 #16 4 months ago

    @TelexStar I've been saying for awhile that BF3 is really meant for the PC and you can see it in every part of the game.

    I kind of wish they'd go back to the old formula of BF on PC and BF:BC on console :(

  • adofessex #17 4 months ago

    @bobfish09 I agree, BF3 works on a console, it just doesn't work as well as Bad Company did.

    Before I get negged to infinity, I still think BF3 is a great game and will be playing it for a long time.
    Edited by 1 at 10/11/11 @ 10:46

  • Sodding_Gamer #18 4 months ago

    64 players on console, VTOL jets, quad bikes, submarines, large attack boats, WMD's, and of course amazing photo-realistic graphics please.

    Cheers DICE!

  • Xboxfanuk #19 4 months ago

    now EA/DICE let's see a killer launch title for the Xbox 720 with a good campaign this time.

  • MattRobson #20 4 months ago

    that's nice just not yearly... oh wait this is EA talking.

  • TelexStar #21 4 months ago

    @adofessex & bobfish09 - Yeah, I can see that too. The Urban style maps just never felt like they worked. It's like they threw in lots of urban (and not very destructible) maps to try and gain some of the CoD market. The problem is (IMHO) that CoD does the urban, chaotic warfare thing a bit better. Where BF *should* shine is in the open style maps. BC2 nailed this in my view but on BF3, the maps are too big for the limited console player cap. THey've been built for Jets clearly but the areas where you can engage in on foot are very limited (and pretty close quarters).

    As I said, I'm obviously in the minority here as plenty of other people are clearly enjoying it. I just hope that in future DICE decides what sort of game it wants to make and not try to fit a circular PC peg into the square console hole (or vice versa).

  • pinkpanzer #22 4 months ago

    @TelexStar I feel exactly the same - I think you've hit the nail on the head for what it's worth. I LOVED BFBC2 but BF3 on 360 seems to be creaking and straining, a poor simulacrum of a superior PC game. Still I've only had it for a couple of days but that's the vibe I'm getting. Sad.

  • super_monty #23 3 months ago

    If it is within the next 2 years it's a no sale I am sick of EA milking franchises and splitting the community.

  • Brainz #24 3 months ago

    a) who would of guessed ...
    b) still "cool" tho
    c) this time please less maps with bottlenecks/chokepoints (thats not BF anyways) cause maps like Metro/Bazaar and the likes are a joke atm. rocket/nade spam pure

  • gremly #25 3 months ago

    @Brainz You know..The easy way to solve that bottleneck problem is to well. Stop feeding it :p

    What I do when I play with my mates on Metro/Bazaar is when it all kicks off on the staircases/escalators we just kick back and stop rushing to the entry points. Kick out a MAV and help identify the campers and get points for doing it while we make a slow, but less lemming like push :p

    P:S - Try using the MAV indoors. It makes for a great challenging minigame XD

  • Matfink #26 3 months ago

    Bring back the commander.
    Make strategy matter again - bigger more spread out maps, less bottlenecks.
    Don't shoe-horn CoD SP & maps into it.
    Don't shoe-horn Origin/external launchers into the deal.
    Get rid of the frickin flashlights :p
    Sorted.

  • tiddex #27 3 months ago

    @arcam maybe something like modern warfare and the world at war / black ops series...

  • metalangel #28 3 months ago

    Will it be what BF3 should have been? Or will they piss their time away on a shit singleplayer campaign, a dozen visual effects that make it harder to see, and thus forget to allow more than a dozen fucking players per side?

    Seriously. A dozen per side makes it feel like fighting in a ghost town. 30+ players has been done in a number of games this console gen, but DICE decided their effort was better expended making a campaign where you grovel around in a gutter in the dark, watching yourself stab rats.

  • frazzl #29 3 months ago

    Mirror's Edge 2 first please :)

  • sir_tripod #30 3 months ago

    "There is going to a Battlefield 4..."

    "...But not until AFTER we've milked the fucking life out of the DLC first."

  • DrStrangelove #31 3 months ago

    Sometimes, the greatest surprise in EG news stories is that they are published as news stories.

  • rudedudejude #32 3 months ago

    Oh woop BF4 will have even less destructible environments then?

    And the servers will fall down on day one?

    And one class will SOOOOPER PWN

  • LEONOFDEATH #33 3 months ago

    I want Battlefield 2143.

    It needs to be.

    Why there arent more games like that, I dont know.
    Hopfully Dust 514 is that sort of game.

  • GhostPig #34 3 months ago

    I might be joining in the chorus here, but...

    EA - leave DICE alone and let them do what they're good at. (Hint: not killing COD.)

    DICE - Any chance of BC3? Ta.

  • d1anny1 #35 3 months ago

    Drop that terrible tactical light!

  • sjmlondon #36 3 months ago

    There does seem to be a growing trend of people who play BF3 giving up on Rush mode because with all the COD toys now available it just gets harder and harder to take the objective and now just play more conquest. I have to say I I find to Conquest be a completely boring game mode. The bigger conquest maps on sonsole at least are like ghost towns. With half the players in jets or helicopters it leaves a half dozen player running around like headless chicken from one end of the map to the other. Several online friends have already traded it in for MW3.


    Otherwise
    Hit detection is still awful
    I've yet to have a game when we manage to get a four man pre setup squad onto the same side let alone squad.
    Wretched blinding headache inducing flashlights.
    Graphics on consoles not as good as BFC2
    Game freezing.
    When it is now fairly obviously that the pregame footage was from a top end PC version you do feel a bit short changed.
    It's just not as much fun as BFBC2

    Perhaps they should rerelease on Xbox 720 at a discount price when the hardware will be properly be able to handle Frostbite 2.

  • mukki #37 3 months ago

    Really!
    what a surprise!
    Wait let me look into my crystal ball...
    wait I sense something...
    I think I think
    Oh my god there will be a Modern Warfare 4 too!

  • DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON #38 3 months ago

    was so looking forward to bf3 and mwf3 but i now know that i will never buy any of these over hyped titles again!,i know it wont kill the sales figures or anything like that but people need to wake up and see these games for what they realy are(just a load of shite to be exact)...