Battlefield Premium worked. Although sinking an additional $50 into a full-retail game sounds like an idea destined for disaster, DICE’s compelling core product was more than enough to convince 4 million players to subscribe to the enhanced multiplayer service. The 2011 blockbuster still stands as one of the most popular online shooters on the market, and while millions of people are anticipating the release of Battlefield 4 this fall, the concept of just making the series into its own platform is something that’s at least crossed the minds of the talented folks making the games.
Battlefield 4 executive producer Patrick Bach recently spoke to Videogamer about the idea, and while there are no plans at this time to drop the current format, there’s no sense in ruling it out.
"Maybe it [could]," Bach said about Battlefield becoming a platform. "You're touching upon something that we've actually started noticing as well. Battlefield is almost turning into a first-person shooter/vehicular combat platform where people want more things but put into the same core mechanic.
"You saw with Battlefield 3, for instance, it's not that there's not an urge for more Battlefield. You mentioned Premium – we [had] 18 months worth of Battlefield and people want more things during that time. Now it's been almost two years and people feel like they are continuously playing – we still have huge amounts of players playing Battlefield 3. So I think in general, people apparently want Battlefield all year round."
With the latest entry continuing to impress, the concept of “Battlefield all year round” is beginning to sounds more and more compelling.
