Despite impressive sales for Star Wars Battlefront, DICE's multiplayer shooter failed to fill the Battlefield void. Heck, even with "long-term engagement" across Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline — with more than 150 hours logged by players — there's still an unquenched thirst for a new installment in the popular first-person shooter series. Well, good news, folks.
In its recent post-earnings financial call, Electronic Arts not only reaffirmed a new Battlefield is coming in 2016, but provided a more specific release window for the eagerly awaited game.
Kicking things off the publisher reaffirmed an "all-new Battlefield game from DICE" will arrive "in time for the holidays."
Getting a bit more specific, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen told investors to "assume" that it'll arrive in the "back half of the year" as well. Given that the second quarter is dominated by EA's sports titles, it's highly likely the new Battlefront (Battlefield 5: Armageddon?) will be EA's holiday blockbuster this year. Not taking into account Battlefield Hardline, which was moved to a spring window due to the holiday release of Star Wars Battlefront — most recent Battlefield games launched in October.
With Titanfall 2 also on the way, and having a "fiscal 2017 release window," I'm going to assume Battlefield 5 will be the 2016 holiday blockbuster shooter, with Titanfall 2 following in early 2017. And then we also have Mass Effect: Andromeda on the radar, but the launch window is a bit less clear for that one.
In any case, we have a new Battlefield game to look forward to this year — barring any delays.