Summary
- Battlefield must focus on capturing its unique identity in its next project to differentiate from Call of Duty.
- The franchise's history of elaborate Easter eggs needs to be a key focus in the upcoming game.
- The next Battlefield should prioritize engaging Easter eggs to revive community interest and repay fans for its missteps in Battlefield 2042.
With the latest installment in the Battlefield franchise releasing almost three years ago, attention is beginning to turn towards what might come next for the FPS giant. It is fair to say that the franchise lost a lot of its identity with the controversial release of Battlefield 2042. Despite the game doing well to redeem itself in recent months, it seems extremely important that the series' next project does all it can to capture the same feel of its most successful past titles.
The Battlefield franchise has long had to contend against Call of Duty for the top spot in the FPS genre, and it has always been vital to offer intriguing gameplay elements that are completely different from CoD. While Call of Duty has a fantastic history of complex Easter eggs in its Zombies mode, Battlefield has always had similar secrets hidden away in its core multiplayer, and this is something that needs to carry forward into the next project for the IP.
With DICE still being invested in the post-launch life of Battlefield 2042, nothing has been confirmed yet regarding the next release for the franchise.
Battlefield's Long Easter Egg History Cannot Be Ignored in its Next Release
Large-scale and interactive Easter eggs first came to the Battlefield franchise with 2013's Battlefield 4, heralding the start of a tradition that focuses on community engagement. Battlefield 4 was home to some iconic Easter eggs such as the Megalodon in Nansha Strike, which requires ten players to gather around a specific location to trigger. The game possesses a huge amount of hidden elements in the form of collaborative Easter eggs, secret audio files, and multi-phase Easter eggs that offer lucrative customization rewards.
This tradition was carried forward to a lesser extent in Battlefield Hardline, with Battlefield 1 and 5 being more in-line with the depth of Battlefield 4's Easter eggs. Battlefield 1 had a five-phased Easter egg that huge portions of its community were involved in, with Battlefield 5 having a wider variety of smaller-scale interactive Easter eggs.
The Next Battlefield Needs to Improve On 2042's Easter Eggs
A lot of the criticism that Battlefield 2042 has faced since its release relates to the absence of content types that were staple elements of past games. Things like the lack of a single-player campaign, leaderboards, and the four-class system at launch were met with a lot of disappointment by some sections of the community, and this is something that needs to change in the franchise's next release.
Battlefield 2042 has some interactive Easter eggs, but none have reached the level of acclaim that past games have achieved. Of course, the negativity surrounding 2042 may have had an impact on the community's reception to the title's Easter eggs, and this makes the secrets within the franchise's next project all the more important.
With so much community-wide attention already being placed on the next Battlefield title, it only makes sense that the game should lean into Easter eggs that involve intense exploration and discussion within the playerbase. Regardless of what setting the next Battlefield game chooses to use, it should include a wide range of Easter eggs at launch that can invigorate the community from the get-go. Not only would this improve the attention around the next title around the time of its launch, it would continue a beloved tradition for the IP while repaying fans for the controversies of recent years.
Battlefield 2042
- Released
- November 19, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
Battlefield 2042 is a first-person shooter that marks the return to the iconic all-out warfare of the franchise. With the help of a cutting-edge arsenal, engage in intense, immersive multiplayer battles.
Lead your team to victory in both large all-out warfare and close-quarters combat on maps from the world of 2042 and classic Battlefield titles. Find your playstyle in class-based gameplay and take on several experiences comprising elevated versions of Conquest and Breakthrough. Explore Battlefield Portal, a platform where players can discover, create, and share unexpected battles from Battlefield's past and present.
This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items.
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- DICE, Criterion Games, Ripple Effect
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Franchise
- Battlefield
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
- How Long To Beat
- N/A
- File Size Xbox Series
- 84 GB (June 2023)
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X|S and PS4 & Xbox One
