While leaks and reports paint a surprisingly detailed picture of the PS4 hardware, the software side remains mostly a mystery. What unannounced exclusive games will be announced? What “next-gen” third-party titles may appear as publishers take advantage of the buzz surrounding today’s event? One of them could be DICE’s Battlefield 4.
While the Medal of Honor series fades away (again), Electronic Arts has big plans for the future of their flagship shooter franchise, Battlefield. Attached to pre-orders and limited editions of last year’s disappointing Medal of Honor: Warfighter was guaranteed access to the Battlefield 4 beta, lending credence to the idea that EA was emulating Activision’s fiscal strategy (see: Call of Duty) by releasing core shooters every fall, with multiple developers alternating years.
Not a single asset has leaked or been teased by EA about Battlefield 4 but they confirmed its existence last year and more interestingly, showcased it yesterday behind-closed-doors to who we assume were retailer executives. The following tweet came from the official GameStop account (and no it wasn’t hacked) and was retweeted by the official EA Origin and Battlefield accounts.
What strange timing for such a tease… or is it? Where Activision has timed exclusivity deals with Microsoft for Call of Duty on the Xbox 360, Electronic Arts has held a similar relationship with Sony for Battlefield DLC and exclusive bundles on the PS3. It stands to reason then that if Sony is unveiling the PS4 today, and Frostbite 2-powered Battlefield 4 could very well be a part of the presentation. It arguably should be.
– GameStop, Inc. (@GameStop) February 19, 2013
In a matter of hours we may finally know what Battlefield 4 is all about and if it embraces the same modern setting of BF3 or offers something to differentiate it from its own predecessor.
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Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for live coverage of the PS4 unveiling.
