Before Battlefield 1’s reveal, EA was worried that kids wouldn’t know WWI happened

EA Studios boss, Patrick Söderlund, already made it clear that EA initially rejected the concept of Battlefield 1. At the time, EA believed that trench warfare simply would not be fun to play. However, after DICE showed them a demo of Battlefield 1 they quickly changed their minds on that decision.

Apparently, this wasn't the only issue had with Battlefield 1. According to EA CFO Blake Jorgensen, the issue with the WW1 setting wasn't only founded in whether it would be fun or not – it was also whether or not kids would know that WWI even happened.

"World War 1, we were worried that many of the younger consumers out there didn't know that there was a World War 2 or Vietnam, so World War 1…" Jorgensen said during the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2016 Global Technology Conference (via GameSpot).

"I think what people don't understand about World War 1 is the technology shift that went on during the war," continued Jorgensen. "People started the war on horseback and ended the war with airplanes and tanks and battleships and submarines. And that's a huge opportunity for us to be able to do a video game around."

Luckily for EA and DICE, there are plenty of WWI movies and even schools that teach history. Battlefield 1 was met with so much enthusiasm that it rocketed to the number one spot on YouTube's most liked videos.