EA admits that Battlefield could have a free to play component -apkrig
The publication of Electronic Arts’s financial results for the past quarter was followed by a discussion with investors, in which individuals and representatives of other companies were given space to ask questions. The management of Electronic Arts asked about microtransactions in the FIFA series, they asked about mobile games, the The Sims series, and since there are only a few days left until the release of Battlefield 2042, the questions naturally went in that direction as well. In addition to the DICE developers’ perception of the beta test, MoffettNathanson’s Clay Griffin asked about the free to play elements in the Battlefield series, which Electronic Arts talked about in connection with the mobile title. But Griffin wanted to know if Battlefield 2042 would be treated in a similar way, and received a fairly interesting answer from Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson.
“Leaving aside cell phones, you already have an idea of what it might look like [zapojení free to play do Battlefieldu 2042], or you need to see data from game modes after the game is launched, “Griffin asked specifically, and it can be estimated that he was aiming for some free mode, similar to the Warzone in the competitive Call of Duty series. “When we think about our games and our big hits like Apex, FIFA, Madden or Battlefield, it’s about innovation, creativity and ways to incorporate all this back into the games. Whether it will be an expansion in accordance with the new payment or business model, there is always only one piece of the whole puzzle, “said Wilson in a bit of a general way.
But then he started more specifically and stated that the mission of Battlefield 2042 is to evolve the genre of action shooters, which, according to Wilson, the DICE team is doing well. He mentioned, for example, multiplayer for 128 players, remembered the Portal mode, which will allow players to create their own games from elements of older parts, and returned to the mobile Battlefield, which will logically be based on the principles of the free to play model. “Then we will continue to expand what we have, and that in itself will serve tens of millions of players. So I think when we think about the next shift [hlavní série], free to play will make sense for this series, but at the moment it’s not our main goal, “Wilson explained.
Elsewhere in the discussion with investors, he reiterated his idea and said that such an idea makes sense to him, but it can be read from the words of the CEO of Electronic Arts that Battlefield 2042 will probably not be affected. A hot candidate, however, is the aforementioned Portal mode, which by its sandbox nature can universally attract many players, to whom it will be easy to sell something else, for example in the form of battle passes, following the example of other action games. From our point of view, components from other games for the production of their own modes should not be locked behind the payments, in order to avoid fragmentation of the community, but all other content will undoubtedly be monetized, and if the Portal proves successful, we would not be surprised by the described step.
