Electronic Arts (EA) announced today that the next installment in the Battlefield franchise is slated for release sometime during its fiscal year 2026, spanning April 2025 to March 2026. This announcement came alongside the unveiling of Battlefield Labs, a new player testing initiative designed to gather feedback during the game's development. A brief pre-alpha gameplay glimpse was showcased in a video accompanying the announcement.
EA also introduced Battlefield Studios, a collective of four studios collaborating on the project: DICE (Stockholm), responsible for multiplayer development; Motive, contributing to single-player missions and multiplayer maps; Ripple Effect, focused on attracting new players to the franchise; and Criterion, handling the single-player campaign. These studios are currently in a crucial development phase, actively seeking player input to refine gameplay elements. Battlefield Labs will facilitate this feedback, with participants required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
EA emphasized its commitment to player feedback, stating that testing will encompass core combat, destruction, weapons, vehicles, gadgets, maps, modes, and squad play, including the core Conquest and Breakthrough game modes. The class system (Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon) will also be refined for deeper strategic gameplay. This initiative marks a significant departure from the approach taken with Battlefield 2042, which faced criticism for its Specialist system and large-scale maps. The new Battlefield will revert to 64-player maps and eliminate Specialists.
The development of the new Battlefield follows the closure of Ridgeline Games, a studio previously working on a standalone single-player Battlefield title. Concept art previously revealed suggests a return to a modern setting, incorporating ship-to-ship and helicopter combat, and featuring natural disaster elements like wildfires. This return to a modern setting, referencing the popular Battlefield 3 and 4 era, aims to recapture the core Battlefield experience while expanding the franchise's offerings to attract a wider player base. EA CEO Andrew Wilson described the project as one of EA's most ambitious undertakings. While platforms and the official title remain unannounced, the significant investment and collaborative effort across multiple studios underscore EA's commitment to the future of the Battlefield franchise.
