After this week’s news that the new Battlefield game will be playable at EA’s E3 event this year, we’ve been thinking about where the series can go next. This fall will mark two years since the last entry, Battlefield 1, hit shelves to great critical and commercial success. The game showed that it was possible to build a solid shooter experience around an era as old as World War I, successfully presenting players with a brutal online experience and compelling campaign. So where will the next game be set? In the far future, or maybe in the distant past? Here’s five places the next Battlefield could go.
World War II
5 Places the Next Battlefield Should Go
One of the most prevalent rumors regarding the next Battlefield game is that it will be set at some point in WWII. This wouldn’t be a first for the series, seeing as the first game was actually set in 1942, but enough time has passed that it might be a good period to revisit. One problem with this theory is that Call of Duty actually did exactly that last year with Call of Duty: WWII, so it may be unlikely for EA to move into the exact same space. Of course, the Battlefield and Call of Duty games have often been set in similar periods so WWII is not completely out of the question. There’s also the fact that we haven’t really seen many shooters set in WWII this generation so the subject matter is far from saturated just yet.
The vehicular combat of World War II seems a perfect fit for Battlefield’s unique brand of large-scale mayhem, and Battlefield 1 showed us that the developers are more than equipped to tackle the heavy subject matter involved with trench warfare.Whether Battlefield chooses to revisit WWII is anyone’s guess but it is worth noting that it could absolutely share the space with Call of Duty, with the two franchises actually being very different from each other in both scale and gameplay.
The Near Future
5 Places the Next Battlefield Should Go
The other prominent rumor floating around the internet at the moment is that the new Battlefield game will be Bad Company 3. The last game, Bad Company 2, was released back in 2010 and was a direct sequel to Bad Company. The series takes place in a near future during a second Russo-American war and is known for its massively destructible environments. The games have always been well-received and the IP well-recognized so releasing a sequel or even reboot of the Bad Company series would be a safe bet by EA.
The main issue they would face is in distinguishing it from their more modern shooters Battlefield 3 and 4, both of which took a lot from the Bad Company series. They could go even further into the future but it seems like players are a little fatigued on futuristic shooters at the moment.
Vietnam
5 Places the Next Battlefield Should Go
The second Battlefield game tackled the Vietnam war with great results. What made it particularly interesting was the asymmetric nature of its combat, with the two sides possessing wildly different weapons and equipment. The US relied on vehicles and heavy machinery while the Vietcong practiced guerrilla warfare and utilized traps. This could bring something new to the modern online shooter and mark a bold change of pace. Nailing the tone would be of particular importance however, given the brutality and nature of the Vietnam war.
A collection of vignettes similar to how Battlefield 1’s story played out would work well here, telling the story from both sides. Jungle warfare could be a very interesting dynamic for a modern Battlefield game and could make the series stand out from its competitors if done correctly. We’ve not seen too many games set in the Vietnam War so far, so maybe it would be a good place to expect the series to go.
Gulf War
5 Places the Next Battlefield Should Go
There have been very few games which have explored the Gulf War, even fewer that have tackled the Iraq War. These modern conflicts are particularly touchy as settings for a video game due to their recent and highly publicized nature. When we talk about war games it can be easy to forget the very real subject matter these games are based on. Essentially, when we use a war as a setting for a shooter, the main goal is for the player to have fun killing other players, a fact that seems insensitive in its disregard for the realities of conflict.
I think the time could be right for a game which explores these modern conflicts, using the same care which was taken in Battlefield 1. The Gulf War could be a very interesting setting for the next Battlefield game given the huge sprawling areas and variety of vehicles. Whether EA would want to face the inevitable backlash that would ensue is unlikely but there’s no doubting that a Battlefield: Gulf War would make for a thrilling shooter.
World War I, Again
5 Places the Next Battlefield Should Go
EA struck gold with Battlefield 1. After gamers had grown cold on futuristic shooters, Battlefield 1 was just the blast from the past that they needed to be reinvigorated in the genre. There were definitely questions about whether or not you could set an online shooter in World War I, given the outdated weapons and vehicles, but the finished product absolutely answered with a confident yes. There are still plenty of stories to be told in World War I and a second dip into the era could still prove worthwhile. DLC has added a lot to Battlefield 1 since its launch but there is definitely more to be explored.
Refining the experience could result in the best Battlefield game yet, and let’s not forget how similar Battlefield 3 and 4 are in terms of setting. We’re all so busy looking at places where the series could go when the solution could have been there all along. Battlefield 1 was a huge commercial success for EA, so it seems likely that they could double down on World War 1 as a setting. We’ll have to wait until they announce it officially to be sure, but World War I might just be the best bet for the series for the foreseeable future.
About the author
