The next Battlefield game will release next year
Now that Battlefront 2 and Battlefield 5 have ceased development, DICE looks to the future.
Following confirmation that both Battlefield 5 and Star Wars: Battlefront 2 are winding down, Electronic Arts has narrowed the official release window for the next Battlefield. Previously a company executive had offered a vague 2021-2022 window, but now we know it'll release next year.
The publisher confirmed as much with IGN, stating that "the studio [DICE] is focused on the future of Battlefield that we'll be bringing to players in 2021". Whether it's Battlefield 6 (or Battlefield 2) or another Hardline-esque spin-off hasn't been specified, but it seems likely DICE will want to get a mainline Battlefield game on next-gen consoles as quickly as possible.
It'll mark the longest break for the series in its history, and that's likely due to Battlefield 5's comparatively dire sales performance. EA CEO Andrew Wilson expressed disappointment with the game's launch, blaming the game's delay for its early sales falling a million units short than the company had forecast.
Battlefield 5 received its final content update this week in the form of Into the Jungle, though servers will of course remain live, probably for years to come.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.