Image: Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts’ new Battlefield game is opening up playtests.
Electronic Arts is officially opening up playtests for its next Battlefield game. In a new developer update, DICE unveiled Battlefield Labs, a program described as its “most ambitious community testing program in franchise history." Fans of the Battlefield franchise can sign up for Battlefield Labs to try out the upcoming shooter early, including returning modes like Conquest and Breakthrough.
DICE shows off gameplay from next Battlefield game
After the rough launch of Battlefield 2042, Electronic Arts is shaking things up for its flagship first-person shooter franchise. In a video released this week, the publisher outlined ambitious development plans for the next Battlefield game, which include the involvement of multiple game studios around the world like DICE, Criterion, Ripple Studios, and Motive.
To support the next Battlefield game’s development, EA is roping players in to test its gameplay out early. Enter Battlefield Labs, an initiative that involves a series of playtests fans can begin signing up for now. Its first phase of tests will kick off sometime in the next few weeks, as the game’s development heads into “a critical phase in development that will benefit from collaboration with the community like never before."
The game is currently in a pre-alpha state, according to EA’s Battlefield Labs reveal video, which means that players will be participating in an unfinished build. The project will require players to sign up for an NDA to experience “different pieces of an unfinished puzzle so we have time to incorporate your feedback into the final product.”
This includes “core combat and destruction,” which means that EA is looking for feedback on the game’s weapons, vehicles, and gadgets, along with its maps, modes, and squad gameplay. These modes include returning favourites Conquest and Breakthrough, plus the game’s class system.
EA’s Battlefield Labs reveal video ended with a sneak peek of gameplay from the next Battlefield, which seems to be set in the modern day with destructible environments, chaotic combat, and heavy warfare. The game does not have a release date.