When taking a look at Battlefield 6 discourse in current weeks, there’s one phrase I maintain seeing pop up: “fumbled.” The highs of the primary few weeks after launch are gone, and whereas Battlefield 6 is not in some sort of disastrous, imminent shutdown scenario, it is actually struggled to capitalize on the early hype. Season 2 has solely added to its downside, with a poor response from gamers and a roadmap of content material that has sparked debates about EA and Battlefield Studios’ dedication to the sport. A scarcity of latest battlegrounds has been one in all Season 2’s greatest criticisms, however BF6’s producer Alexia Christofi says that Battlefield Studios is attempting to “convey issues to gamers as we will and as rapidly as we will construct them,” and that it “empathizes” with gamers asking for extra.
Regardless of Battlefield 6’s gargantuan launch, which noticed it correctly take the combat to Name of Responsibility Black Ops 6, sentiment has soured and participant counts have tumbled for the reason that begin of Season 1 again in November final yr. I used to be quietly hopeful that Season 2, which dropped earlier this week, could be the start of a extra optimistic interval for the FPS recreation, however sadly it appears the other has occurred. Whereas there is a welcome injection of latest weapons and automobiles to the fight sandbox, a flurry of limited-time modes and simply two new maps have underwhelmed followers, and on Steam a minimum of, Season 2’s had solely a modest impact on participant depend.
In an interview with GameSpot, which was posted the day Season 2 went dwell, Christofi seems eager to convey greater than two maps per season to the sport. “By way of cadence, we’d like to create far more maps,” they are saying. “However we’re simply attempting to sort of convey issues to gamers as we will and as rapidly as we will construct them.”
To me, this appears considerably at odds with feedback given by producer Phil Girette, who tells TechRadar in a separate interview that Season 2 is the “basis” of all future seasons and “the extent we have to hit.”
Christofi additionally says in a later interview with GamesBeat: “We’re releasing on a cadence the place we really feel the maps are as much as high quality and we’re proud of how they play, the variability they provide to the gamers. I fully empathize with gamers when they need extra maps and extra content material. They discuss that as a result of they’re passionate concerning the recreation, passionate concerning the franchise. However we’re a crew of a sure dimension. We do not wish to sacrifice high quality.”
Within the wake of Season 2, there have been a variety of comparisons drawn between the quantity of maps on supply in a Battlefield 6 season, versus what enlargement packs in video games like Battlefield 4 supplied – an unfair comparability, in the event you ask me. However nonetheless, I wholeheartedly agree with followers that two maps per season would not really feel like sufficient, particularly given how commercially profitable Battlefield 6 was at launch.
4 separate groups had been mixed to create Battlefield Studios, and whereas they in fact had totally different duties in creating the bottom recreation, that is a variety of builders which are presumably nonetheless assigned to Battlefield 6. That seemingly giant useful resource, the truth that the sport launched so strongly, and Battlefield Studios’ reliance on limited-time experiences, is resulting in comprehensible frustration on the manner seasons are being approached.
If EA is content material with how Battlefield 6 is doing proper now, or there actually are limitations on how briskly the crew at Battlefield Studios can produce new maps, then I doubt something will change. But when it needs to actually solidify the sport for the long run and see participant counts shoot up nearer to launch ranges, larger and extra impactful seasons are going to be the one manner to do this.
