After Battlefield 2042's messy launch, EA has announced a shared Battlefield franchise universe is currently in the works. This announcement came alongside a change of management for the series, as it was also divulged that the Battlefield series is being overseen by Vince Zampella, co-founder of Infinity Ward (Call of Duty) and EA studio Respawn Entertainment (Apex Legends).
This significant leadership adjustment comes after a turbulent Battlefield 2042 release period, one fraught with glitches, poor performance on all key platforms, and server issues. The launch states of Battlefield 4, Hardline, and 5 were all problematic in their own ways - though they all shared many of the newest entry's current issues - but Battlefield 2042 has triggered a negative critical and user reaction outsizing the series' past mistakes. While outrage and review scores are one thing, EA's drastic changes may be primarily driven by one type of metric in particular. Since launch, Battlefield 2042 Steam player counts dropped by an approximate 70%.
Despite the present obstacles, newly appointed Battlefield franchise head Vince Zampella now tells GameSpot that EA is working to build a "connected Battlefield universe," alluding to more frequent series releases likely being planned. He made no mention of annualized releases in the vein of competitor Call of Duty, though Zampella stated future Battlefield games will inhabit a shared "interconnected with shared characters and narrative." Zampella also clarified this strategic pivot (as Battlefield games are typically disparate and released years apart) is not meant to have a negative effect on existing titles, as he promises Battlefield 2042 will continue to "evolve and grow."
At only two weeks old, the latest series entry seems intent on doing just that. A smaller duo of patches were recently followed up by Battlefield 2042 Update #3, which is claimed to have addressed hundreds of gameplay and UI issues. Because the patch went live on the same day as EA's corporate shakeup of Battlefield development, it seems there is still a long road of recovery ahead for the multiplayer-only FPS. The playerbase will soon make it clear what did and didn't work in the newer build, and it could be some time until Battlefield 2042's performance drops and visual bugs are ironed out to a more acceptable degree.
It's true that far fewer players are active in the new Battlefield than on launch day, but those who are still playing have also taking issue with stark franchise departures like Battlefield 2042's widely mocked Santa skin. What EA is planning for Battlefield's shared universe has so far been left vague, but there could be future outrage if it doesn't match up with the games' established image and reputation so far.
Sources: GameSpot, Battlefield/Twitter