Battlefield is one of the most popular franchises in the first-person shooter market. Famous for its huge maps and large scale battles, the series catapulted itself into popularity with the launch of Battlefield 3 in 2011. Despite the rather shoddy launch state of follow-up title Battlefield 4 and the very poor reception to Battlefield: Hardline, the series has still managed to maintain its position as one of the more beloved shooters out there.
Yet, recent decisions by publisher Electronic Arts seem to hint at a sluggishness that may kill the franchise once and for all.
Since its release, Battlefield 1 has seen a surprisingly low amount of content released for its player base. The last major expansion, They Shall Not Pass, rolled out in mid-March, nearly two months ago. A recent announcement has revealed that the next major DLC, In the Name of the Tsar, will arrive in "late summer," meaning that there will be a 7 month gap between the first DLC pack and the second.
This slow schedule has come as a major disappointment to players who purchased the Season Pass on the game's launch date, thus guaranteeing them access to any and all future content. With such a significant lull between new releases, many have begun to regret their enthusiastic purchases for a shooter that they have already stopped playing.
Worse still has been the trickling of maps for those who bought Premium, which is an optional subscription with a $15 monthly fee that grants additional in-game bonuses. With the active player count slowly dwindling, the access to maps for only a small portion of what remains has meant a lot of content with few people to actually play it with.
These factors, when combined with DICE's recent announcement of Star Wars: Battlefront 2, have left many fans of the Battlefield franchise giving up in exasperation.
For more information related to Battlefield, check out the official website for the game.
