EA's next Battlefield game may be in trouble and over budget
The publisher's executives apparently believed that Glacier could match the popularity of Call of Duty and Fortnite and set a 100 million player target over a certain period of time. An employee told Ars that the franchise has never achieved those numbers before, with Battlefield 2042 getting only up to 22 million players within that same period. The first Battlefield , which was the most successful in the franchise so far, only got to "maybe 30 million plus" within that timeframe.
One of the reasons why Fortnite has over 100 million active users is because it's free-to-play. In CoD's case, well, aside from having free-to-play titles, it's also the biggest gaming franchise and has a lengthy history, so it's no surprise that it already has a solid fanbase who would play its latest releases. Players had to pay for previous Battlefield games up front, but executives thought that if EA made Glacier free-to-play like its competitors, it could achieve the same numbers. And that is why the publisher promised a free-to-play Battle Royale mode with a six-hour single player campaign for the upcoming game.
Ridgeline, the external studio working on the single player mode, however, shuttered in 2024 after working on the project for two years. The studio reportedly found EA's objectives unachievable, since it was expected to reach milestones in the same rate as more established studios when it didn't have the same resources. Now, three other EA studios (Criterion, DICE and Motive) are working on the single-player mode. But since they had to start from scratch, single player is the only Glacier game mode remaining that has yet to reach alpha status.
Due to the wider scope of the next title in the franchise and the issues it has faced, it has become the most expensive Battlefield to date. It had a budget of $400 million back in 2023, but the current projections are now apparently "well north" of that. Whether the next Battlefield launches on time remains to be seen. Ars ' sources said that if it does ship as intended, they expect some features and content to be cut from the final product.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
EA Sports CFB 26 Ratings Rundown: Texas
EA Sports CFB 26 Ratings Rundown: Texas originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The 10th of July marks an early Christmas for sports gamers and gleefully indoctrinated college football fanatics alike. From Ann Arbor to Austin, from Pullman to Provo, from Tallahassee to Tuscaloosa, EA Sports College Football 26 is BACK. Advertisement As the second annual installment of the resurrected Electronic Arts bestseller following an 11-year break, fans are naturally restless with excitement over mechanical improvements, new features in game modes like Dynasty and Road to Glory, and slick aesthetic flourishes that capture the immersive, one-of-a-kind pageantry of college football. But if you're being totally honest with yourself, you're not too proud to admit that what you REALLY want to know are CFB 26's player ratings -- especially if you're a fan of the Texas Longhorns, whose squad rolls into a new season absolutely loaded. Let's get to the numbers! Whether you run an Arch Manning fan club, use AI tools to depict Colin Simmons as a cheetah taking down an antelope with John Mateer's head, or wonder if Cole Brevard and DJ Campbell could bench press a Hyundai, check out Texas' team scores and their College Football 26 player ratings. Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) has an impressive 91 rating at launch in EA Sports College Football 26. Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Texas EA Sports College Football 26 Ratings All data via TeamCrafters as of July 6, 2025. Advertisement TEAM RATINGS OFFENSE : 91 DEFENSE : 94 SPECIAL TEAMS : 90 OVERALL: 88 PLAYER RATINGS (Top 20) 1. MLB Anthony Hill Jr.: 95 2. RE Colin Simmons: 93 3. CB Malik Muhammad: 92 t-4. FS Michael Taaffe: 91 t-4. HB Quintrevion Wisner: 91 t-6. QB Arch Manning: 90 t-6. RG DJ Campbell: 90 t-6. TE Jack Endries: 90 9. ROLB Trey Moore: 88 t-10. HB C.J. Baxter: 87 t-10. WR DeAndre Moore Jr.: 87 12. WR Ryan Wingo: 86 t-13. LE Ethan Burke: 85 t-13. HB Jerrick Gibson t-13. CB Jaylon Guilbeau t-16. P Jack Bouwmeester: 84 t-16. ROLB Liona Lefau: 84 t-16. WR Emmett Mosley V: 84 t-19. C Cole Hutson: 83 t-19. DT Cole Brevard: 83 t-19. SS Jelani McDonald This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two Major Head Coaches Not Featured In EA Sports College Football 26
Two Major Head Coaches Not Featured In EA Sports College Football 26 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Like EA Sports' motto says, "It's in the game," unless it's not. College Football 26 won't officially be released until Thursday, but some parties have early access if they purchased the Deluxe Edition of the coveted game. Advertisement It's already been noted that two of college football's biggest head coaches do not appear in the game. Neither Colorado's Deion Sanders nor North Carolina's Bill Belichick is a part of College Football 26. Instead, they have been replaced with fake characters. At Colorado, the Buffaloes have Kirk Patrick, a level 40 elite recruiter graded as an A+ coach. He's noted for his spread offense, preference for a 4-2-5 defense and recruiting pipeline to East Texas. The Tar Heels have Hector Luna as coach, a level 30 scheme guru graded as a B+. His offensive scheme is described as "multiple offense." Luna uses a 3-4 Multiple defensive scheme and has a recruiting pipeline to Central Florida. Advertisement The absence of Belichick shouldn't come as a surprise, as he was never in the Madden franchise either. There were no coaches in College Football 25. This year's game marks the first time coaches will be included. View of the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship game© James Lang-Imagn Images Like players, coaches were not a part of the game series before its discontinuation after the release of NCAA Football 2014. Players and coaches were typically vaguely modeled after their real-life counterparts and given comparable abilities. While in the NFL, Belichick ceased being part of the Coaches Association, which held the licensing deal for their appearances in games, media, and other related activities. Since he wasn't in the union, EA Sports couldn't include him, despite his appearance in "Madden" during the early 2000s. Advertisement EA Sports needed to secure the rights from each coach individually to include them in the game. Sanders did not opt in, so he isn't in College Football 26. Related: Deion Sanders' Daughter Has Four-Word Reaction to Father's Surprise Related: Early Review of Bill Belichick's 'The Art of Winning' Reveals Several Notable Omissions This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
TechCrunch
8 hours ago
- TechCrunch
Activision took down Call of Duty game after PC players hacked, says source
Games giant Activision took down Call of Duty: WWII due to hackers exploiting a flaw in a specific PC version of the game, which led to several players getting their computers hacked, TechCrunch has learned. Last week, Activision announced that it brought offline the Microsoft Store version of Call of Duty: WWII, a 2017 first-person shooter, as the company was investigating 'reports of an issue,' without specifying what the issue was. The company had just launched that version of the game, also available on Game Pass, a subscription service that provides access to several games for a monthly fee. A person with knowledge of Activision's response told TechCrunch that the company took the game offline because of the hacks and while it works to patch the issue. TechCrunch is not naming the person as they are not authorized to speak to the press. Several video game news outlets reported on the story and noted that several players complained on social media that they had been hacked while playing the game. Until now, there had not been a confirmed link between the two events. 'The game is not safe to play on PC right now, there's an RCE exploit,' a player wrote on Reddit last week, referring to a type of bug known as remote code execution, which allows hackers the ability to plant malware capable of essentially taking control of a victim's device. The game for the Microsoft Store and Game Pass remains down at the time of publication, per Activision's status page. Activision did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The game publisher took down only the Microsoft Store and Game Pass version of Call of Duty: WWII because they were different versions of the game than listed on Steam, and contained an old flaw that had been patched on other versions of the game, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Contact Us Do you have more information about these hacks? Or other video game hacks? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or Do you have more information about these hacks? Or other video game hacks? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email . In the last couple of years, Activision has had to deal with several hacking incidents. In November 2024, a hacker found a flaw in Call of Duty's anti-cheat system that allowed them to ban thousands of legitimate gamers. Earlier in the year, the company investigated a hacking campaign targeting players with infostealer malware, a type of malicious software designed to steal a victim's passwords. In 2023, hackers used a self-spreading malware — a computer worm — to hack Call of Duty: Modern Warfare players, thanks to an unpatched years-old bug in the game. In recent times, some video game companies have beefed up their cybersecurity teams, as well as their anti-cheat teams. Activision, however, has gone through several rounds of layoffs in the last few years, some of which have directly affected its cybersecurity teams.
