Next Battlefield Will Feature 64-Player Maps, Specialists Not Returning

EA has confirmed that the next Battlefield title is going to go back to a modern-day setting akin to what fans of Battlefield 3 and 4 will remember very well, and alongside that, other details have been released on the title as well. Being billed as a back-to-the-basics game for the franchise, unsurprisingly, the next Battlefield is also going to revert to a number of core tenets where its multiplayer is concerned.

For instance, though Battlefield 2042 introduced 128-player maps on current-gen consoles and PC, the change proved to be an unpopular one with players, causing developer DICE to eventually switch back to 64-player battles. With the next instalment in the series, we’ll be seeing the latter right off the bat, as revealed by Vince Zampella, Head of Respawn and Group General Manager for EA’s Studios Organization, in conversation with IGN.

“The maps, once they get to a certain scale, become different. It’s a different play space, and I think you have to design around that,” Zampella said. “So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields. I’d rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can’t wait for you to see some of them.”

Similarly, Specialists are another new feature that Battlefield 2042 introduced to mixed reception from players that will not be returning in the next game in the shooter franchise, with Zampella confirming a return to classes, which he describes as being “at the core of” the franchise’s gameplay identity.

“So I wasn’t there for 2042. I don’t know what the rationale was, but for me, it’s like the team tried something new,” he said. “You have to applaud that effort. Not everybody liked it, but you got to try things. It didn’t work. It didn’t fit. Specialist will not be coming back. So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we’re going back to that.”

Leaks have claimed that the next Battlefield game is targeting an October 2025 release, though EA hasn’t said much about the title or its launch plans in an official capacity. Zampella, however, has expressed interest in potentially bringing the game to Nintendo’s as-yet unannounced next-gen console. Read more on that through here.