Battlefield Play4Free engages hostiles in Spring 2011

Following a tease earlier this week, EA has announced Battlefield Play4Free this morning, a freemium title that will support 32-player online warfare. The game will activate in the spring of 2011 but, if you just can't wait, you can enlist early and test out the closed beta beginning November 30. Aesthetically -- and, apparently, in tone -- BP4F appears to be a departure from EA's other freemium warfare title, Battlefield Heroes, which has a cartoony, colorful nature (though the two games will share a single "battlefunds" wallet, confirms Ben Cousins of developer Easy, an EA Games studio).

Easy's Battlefield Play4Free will combine maps from Battlefield 2 with the classes and weapons found in the hit (and neglected) Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Players can drive 16 different vehicles, including the F35 VTOL (vertical take-off landing) jet fighter -- which certainly isn't found in BFBC2. Players will progress through the game to learn skills or, as you've probably already guessed, drop some f'real bling to pimp out their soldier.

Battlefield Play4Free

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November 5, 2010
EA Blows Up Online PC Gaming With Battlefield Play4Free

Award Winning Battlefield Franchise Takes Free PC Shooters to the Next Generation

STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- From the makers of the hit arcade shooter Battlefield Heroes comes an all-new entry in the free* to play market, this time featuring photo-real characters, environments, weapons and maps. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced Battlefield Play4Free, a deep PC shooter featuring signature Battlefield vehicular warfare, sandbox gameplay and intense 32-player online battles. With its advanced graphics, polished production values, depth and realism, Battlefield Play4Free takes the genre to the next level and is positioned to compete with top console titles. The game goes live in spring 2011. Players who wish to get in the game sooner can register today for the closed beta at battlefield.play4free.com which launches on Nov 30.

"We broke new ground in 2009 with the launch of Battlefield Heroes; a game that has 6M registered players worldwide. Now we are complementing that arcade shooter with a core, realistic Battlefield shooter experience that fans have been clamouring for," said James Salt, Senior Producer, Battlefield Play4Free. "Battlefield Play4Free is for serious shooter fans who are looking for a premium - but free - experience that rivals top console titles."

Combining the most popular maps from Battlefield 2 with the familiar classes and powerful weapons of Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2, players have access to 16 vehicles including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, its nemesis the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the massive Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the hard to catch LSV light strike vehicle. Players progress through the game to learn new combat skills, and earn in-game currency to spend on a massive array of devastating weapons and equipment.

For more information on Battlefield Play4Free, please visit battlefield.play4free.com. Players can follow the game on Twitter® at: www.twitter.com/bfplay4free or become a fan on Facebook® at www.facebook.com/bfplay4free.

*Internet Connection and EA Account Required.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. "PlayStation" are a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft Group of companies. Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.

Reader Comments (27)

hmmm? i wonder if DICE realizes that BF2 servers are still very much alive and active?

And i'm guessing that the free2play is very limited in it's feature set.

And it's not like BF2 is an expensive game, probably much less than what'd it cost to have a playable character in this "free 2 play" version.

@Omnistatic

Well, from what I understand EA is also currently developing Battlefield 3. That probably means we won't be getting anything new other than the Vietnam DLC. Really, all I wanted was new maps and a few new vehichles in the same era as BC2. Don't get me wrong, the Vietnam stuff looks great, but it would have been nice to just expand what little MP content was already in BC2.

@Omnistatic
I hope you realize that this is a production of EASY not DICE.
And there are many players that would love to play a free game.

@Omnistatic I wonder if DICE/EA realize that all we've wanted is a true successor to BF2 since 2142

@That Burning Sensation

It would have been awesome if DICE decided to add maps from across the BF series to BC2... some maps from BF2, some from BC1, and maybe even a couple from 42 or Vietnam...

@SpeedGun

doesn't really matter who's developing it really, it's still basically all of DICE's design work. being re-structured for a different way of gaming...

and... There's no such thing as a free lunch...

@ayycashh

I hear ya there man... BF is my go to series, but lately i'm thinking they should just focus on 1 series at a time instead of branching it off into different franchises. I'd even be willing to pay for content on a regular basis as long as it's quality.

And to expand a bit: I think it's a bad move really... like i said, the BF2 community is still quite active/strong for a 5 year old game, and unless this Free2Play version retains all the features of the retail version (without having to pay for them), I really don't see this taking off... It's not the kind of game that really lends itself to a casual play session.

Of course we'll have to wait on more info on pricing and details, but i'll stick with my BF2 collection for the time being... I love me some 64 player madness.

PS: Strike at Karkand is over rated ;) I'm all about the Oil Plants or Dragon Valley

Why can't I just get new maps for the 1943 game I bought and forever stuck with? These days EA is just spreading themselves too thin over the Battlefield franchise. Battlefield BC 2 still hasn't had real DLC, and reusing the same maps don't count.

@That Burning Sensation Yeah that was so annoying. You get excited when you see that theres going to be another map pack, then you find out its just the same maps over and over again. They should have made all the maps compatible with all the modes in the first place.

@lenandude They kind-of did, and most the stuff was on the disc all-along. They deliberately did this so the game would always feel fresh (ever month a few levels receive some new modes to play them with). They also did it to put further pressure on people who bought used copies to buy the VIP 'rights' without having to make any actual DLC to make it worthwhile (Being locked out of the game is more than enough reason to cough up the dough).

Yay?

I'm guessing this is PC only.
~d

@daevv

I'm not trying to be insulting and I noticed a quite a few people are doing this, but is it really necessary to "sign" your comment when I can clearly see your name right next to it?

@daevv And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened

-Jesus

What he said...

@daevv Seems so yeah, one can hope for a Mac version, consoles would be out of the question.

@MrMagicMushroom I'm also hoping it will work on the Mac. Heroes doesn't (unless that's changed since the beta) but their Tiger Woods online game does so I've got my fingers crossed.

I signed up for the beta anyway since I have Windows 7 on my Macbook as well so I can still play it either way, I would just rather not have to reboot everyt ime I want to play it.

Ok that totally looks like bf2 ; ; same vehicles graphics et all

Hey, look--it's that Battlefield 2 game I bought like... 5 years ago. Only it supports fewer players.

Damn.... can BFBC2 get some fixed wing aircraft love??? WTF

Strike at Karkand? So it's basically going to be a f2p BF2? That's cool for people who don't want to play the best battlefield.

Here's hoping they don't ruin it like Heroes. God awful mess that turned out to be.

so basically they just made BF2 f2p?

@misery
with a leveling system to make sure you either grind or drop some cash to get the goods. pass.

Yay BF2 for free. Let the dolphin flopping and j10 whoring commence.

So, what happened to 64-player Battlefield? I've been obsessed with Project Reality lately (the fairly well produced BF2 mod) and I can't imagine going back to 16 per team.

And if those are BF2 maps, they're going to be either the medium versions (smaller, with fewer vehicles, etc), stretched hopelessly thin, or somehow butchered.

strike at karkand....my lost love has returned!!!!!!!! why was this map not in bad company :(

KARKAND!!!

I hope they have grapple hooks and ziplines and most of all the Operation Warlord map.

This is a port of the Korean "Battlefield: Online" which was released last summer there, I think.

Whoopee?

I do miss me some BF2 maps.

Thing is, it's *really* hard to go back to environments you can't blow up after the fun carnage of Bad Company 2.

Damn, I really wanted a Battlefield 2142 sequel (2143?). For some reason, air combat of the future is weak, but the urban warfare maps were slaughterhouses anyway.

Tunis Harbor, Belgrade and Camp Gibraltar ... tossing homing floating mines by roadside debris or walls ... the Pilum anti-tank sniper rifle ... memories. And maybe Fall of Berlin, though that was heavily in favored of the defenders.

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