""EA's fate is tightly tied to Battlefield," New York University games professor Joost van Dreunen tells The Verge. "If Battlefield 6 underperforms, it will call into question the strength of EA's non-sports portfolio. At that point, the company faces pressure to rethink its strategy, perhaps even to divest and lean more heavily on the dependable sports business. It makes Battlefield a bellwether that will tell us if EA can still compete in blockbuster shooters.""
"The pressure for Battlefield 6 started building almost immediately after Battlefield 2042's disastrous 2021 debut. The multiplayer-only 2042 added huge, 128-player battles to a franchise already known for epic multiplayer skirmishes. But the game had a rough, bug-filled launch that necessitated multiple patches shortly after release. EA moved quickly to put Vince Zampella, cofounder of Apex Legends-maker Respawn Entertainment and former head of Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward, in charge of the Battlefield series to help right the ship."
Battlefield 6 is positioned as a critical launch for EA, set to debut on October 10. EA is concentrating on large, bankable franchises and aims to compete directly with Activision's Call of Duty. A recently announced $55 billion deal to take EA private increases the financial stakes tied to the game's performance. The previous entry, Battlefield 2042, launched in 2021 with 128-player multiplayer that suffered a bug-filled release and required multiple patches. EA installed Vince Zampella to lead the Battlefield series after 2042's problems. Battlefield 6 needs to be a commercial and critical success to validate EA's non-sports portfolio strategy.
Read at The Verge
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