After hyping up Battlefield 2042 as EA’s next big shooter following 2018’s Battlefield V, which itself wasn’t successful at all, the latest installment in the venerated franchise fell flat on its face right out of the gates. From players asking for refunds to the player count falling below the one-thousand mark and EA admitting its lapses, it’s a wonder why EA is still supporting Battlefield 2042. But, as it turns out, EA and DICE have long-term plans for the much-maligned FPS title. In its latest earnings call, EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, revealed that the publisher is taking the “long view”, describing Battlefield as “one of the great franchises” in the gaming industry. Wilson adds that the publisher expects the Battlefield franchise to “continue to grow and be a really important part of [EA’s] portfolio for many, many years to come.” Finally, Wilson gave Battlefield 2042’s team a much-needed vote of confidence, describing the ongoing rehabilitation as a process “from the ground up” that will use the “Vince Zampella-slash-Respawn model of ‘get to the fun as quickly as possible’.” Vince Zampella is a veteran of the video game industry with extensive experience working on award-winning shooters. He is the co-founder of Infinity Ward, which many consider the best Call of Duty studio, as well as Respawn Entertainment, the same team behind Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Apex Legends, as well as the two Titanfall games. EA handed the reigns of the entire Battlefranchise to Zampella in December after Oscar Gabrielson left EA. Since then, Zampella has done an excellent job trying to fix Battlefield 2042. Unfortunately, as Wilson puts it, “there’s still more work” for the current Battlefield team left to do. Finally, Wilson adds that EA will “invest and grow” Battlefield 2042 but only after EA feels like the game “is in the right place with the core experience and with the core game.” Wilson’s comments might generate some excitement among the few hundred remaining Battlefield 2042 players, but the overall earnings report wasn’t good news. For example, fans noted that EA didn’t include Battlefield 2042 in the publisher’s list of active live service games. Meanwhile, Battlefield V was on it, casting doubt on EA’s commitment to Battlefield 2042. Then again, EA might just not consider Battlefield 2042 as a live-service game. At least, not yet. Despite being out on the market for more than six months, EA and DICE still haven’t released any form of live service content for Battlefield 2042. If it’s any consolation, EA’s future is bright outside of Battlefield 2042. Battlefield Mobile is set to undergo intensive testing any day now with plans to launch the game later this year. Meanwhile, Respawn Entertainment is working on three big Star Wars games, including a Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Finally, EA is reportedly sitting on at least four secret projects that haven’t been “publicly disclosed.”
