After calling the next Battlefield “another tremendous live service,” EA CEO threatens to put ads in AAA games
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson made a series of controversial statements during the company’s latest earnings conference call, with potential in-game ads and comments about the upcoming Battlefield raising eyebrows.
Battlefield may not be the Call of Duty rival it once was following a series of controversial releases, but Wilson was eager to promote the next entry in the large-scale, leveled-up series. “I’ve just spent a lot of time with the collective Battlefield team,” Wilson says, humorously calling the upcoming game “another great live service.”
Battlefield hasn’t embraced live service as much as Call of Duty or Destiny, but seasonal updates and battle passes certainly allow the latest shooters to qualify. However, after the rocky launches of Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 2042, I don’t know if the series has ever had “another great live service” to brag about, whatever that means these days.
Regardless, Wilson still boasts that “the largest Battlefield team in franchise history” will “build a Battlefield universe across connected multiplayer and single-player experiences.” Dead Space remake developers EA Motive have just been put to work on Battlefield – leaving the cult horror series in limbo – while the studio created to focus on single-player Battlefield experiences has been shut down.
Whatever Battlefield is next, it’s not in the publisher’s plans for this fiscal year ending March 2025. An EA Original game and IP they own – potentially Dragon Age: Dreadwolf – will arrive, however. Soon.
What was perhaps more controversial was Wilson’s comments on the implementation of advertisements in traditional AAA games. “Advertising has the opportunity to be a significant growth driver for us,” he continued, “…we currently have internal teams across the company looking at how we do very successful implementations. reflected in our gaming experiences.”
2020’s UFC 4 included full-screen adverts for Amazon Prime TV show The Boys, a move that had to be reversed after a huge backlash from fans. Several other EA games have also experimented with ads in the past, like 2004’s Need For Speed: Underground 2, where the company painted ads on the game’s billboards. Being bombarded with unwanted roadside ads is part of of the driving experience, so I’d prefer that over literal in-game pop-ups.
Wilson also claimed that developers have a “real hunger” for AI to be implemented in game development.
News Source : www.gamesradar.com
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