Another Shooter May Champion EA’s Future Battle Royale Experience
Electronic Arts just held its Q1 earnings call, where they advised shareholders on the state of the company. 2018 being what it is, executives were asked about Fortnite and the possibility of incorporating its financial model into existing EA franchises. Will Battlefield V function similarly with its battle royale mode? The answer, provided by VP of investor relations Chris Evenden, was no.
EA holds firm on its stance that battle royale in Battlefield V will be a traditional game mode, not a standalone experience. Since Fortnite was apparently a prime topic of conversation, Evenden also received questions about cross-platform play with its franchises. While Xbox and Nintendo seem to have an amicable relationship through Minecraft and Fortnite cross-play, PlayStation 4 has abstained from the connectivity train. This alone may throw a small wrench into the company’s investment plan. Nevertheless, Evenden left cross-play on the table for future games.
“We’re looking at key franchises in terms of how we can deliver cross-platform play in a similar way that Fortnite has, especially some of our titles that have a broad and diverse player base,” he said. “The ability to bring PC to mobile or mobile to console can bring family and friends together, and we think that’s an important part of our future development profile. Expect more from us on that front in the future.”
Still, COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen had to chime in on Fortnite and its rippling impact on games as a service. While Battlefield V will feature battle royale as a mode, a future installment or alternate property may helm the mode as a standalone experience.
“We’re interested in experimenting with a free-to-play standalone game that might be in a shooter genre or another genre,” he said, “but I don’t think that’s how we’re looking at the Battlefield stuff right now.”
In talking about Battlefield V, the company also touched on how they’ve learned from the mistakes of Star Wars: Battlefront II. The road to and following Battlefield V will be paved with free content drops. More importantly, the new progression system won’t suffer from any pay-to-win gimmicks. Expect concrete updates as more information arrives.
SOURCE: GamesIndustry.biz