Electronic Arts has announced its intention to create a shared Battlefield universe and a new experience in the Battlefield 2042 universe amidst a shakeup in the structure of its development teams.
Battlefield 2042 has been out for just a few short weeks and it's attracted a fair amount of criticism. Although Update 3 launched earlier this morning and squashed a lot of bugs (while also introducing some new ones), the lack of features such as a traditional scoreboard and a single-player campaign has attracted criticism from many players.
EA nonetheless has bold plans for the franchise going forward and it seems that Battlefield 2042 is simply the first step -- it has announced that a shared Battlefield universe is in development.
What We Know About the Shared Battlefield Universe
Details on the shared Battlefield universe are somewhat light, but we do know that Ripple Effect -- the game developer responsible for Battlefield 2042's Portal mode -- will be working on a "new Battlefield experience" in the 2042 universe.
As Gamespot reports, EA has already suggested that a mobile Battlefield game is on the way in addition to whatever Ripple Effect is working on. Don't worry about Battlefield 2042, though; a multi-studio team is going to continue to support it.
I predicted such a scenario in my early preview of Battlefield 2042 -- the Battlefield Portal looks like it will make it easier than ever to integrate multiple games in one platform. The latest Battlefield game has laid the groundwork, and now EA is keen to expand on it -- potentially with Battlefield 2042 at the center of it all.
The Battlefield Franchise Has a New Boss
As part of its grander Battlefield ambitions, EA is having a shakeup in management. Dice General Manager Oskar Gabrielson will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities, and Respawn Entertainment's Vince Zampella will be stepping up to take over as the new boss of the Battlefield franchise overall. Furthermore, Marcus Lehto -- widely known as the man who created Halo's Master Chief -- will be collaborating with Dice and Ripple effect through his new studio in Seattle.
Zampella notes that EA is planning to "grow significantly" by adding more developers to work on the Battlefield franchise according to Gamespot. While Battlefield 2042 hasn't had the strongest start, EA seems to be playing the long game and is dead set on going head-to-head with other multi-game franchises such as Call of Duty.
A further sign of EA's ambitions is indicated through one of its recent hires: Byron Beede, a Call of Duty veteran who has been brought on board to tackle long-term strategy and business decisions for the franchise.
#Battlefield2042 Update 3 has broken mouse control for some players, myself included. I can move my mouse up and down, but not left or right. pic.twitter.com/BrXlJ2n3Zl
— Robert N. Adams (@Robert_N_Adams) December 2, 2021
Battlefield 2042 Update 3 Launched With a Strange Mouse Bug
EA's Battlefield ambitious aside, Battlefield 2042 Update 3 launched earlier this morning at around 3:00 AM Eastern Time. Unfortunately, it also debuted a rather odd game-breaking bug for some players -- they couldn't move their mouse left or right.
A submission on Reddit details complaints from dozens of players who were affected by the issue. I was among them myself (as seen in the above video); although my mouse would only work on one axis, my controller worked perfectly fine.
Unfortunately, the only solution is to delete a config file and set up all of your controls again -- a fix that was highlighted by the official Battlefield Direct Communication account. No other resolution has been offered, although the devs did manage to fix some server issues that also popped up when Update 3 launched.
EA may have ambitious plans for Battlefield, but the launch of Battlefield 2042 (and the post-launch patches) show that its execution isn't quite up to par just yet; hopefully, they'll be able to get everything in order sooner rather than later. You can jump into the latest Battlefield game by buying Battlefield 2042 for PC and consoles starting at $59.99 or your regional equivalent via its official website.
What do you think of EA's ambitions for a shared Battlefield universe? Do you think they'll manage to get Battlefield 2042 into a better state? Let us know in the comments below!
