EA And DICE Reveal Next Major Battlefield Game And The Trailer Is So Epic

Electronic Arts and DICE announced that the newest Battlefield game is not called Battlefield 5, but rather Battlefield 1. The game hearkens back to the age of World War I, and the trailer sets the tone for the gritty new first-person shooter.

The video was unveiled over on the Battlefield event page, where EA's executive VP, Patrick Soderlund, and DICE's design director Lars Gustavsson talked up a lot of Battlefield's features and history, as well as why they decided to call it Battlefield 1. According to the developers, World War I is the “genesis” of what we know of modern military warfare. They also wanted to show how some of the older styles of combat tactics fuse with the more modern themes that began to surface during World War I.

They're calling the Frostbite utilization in Battlefield 1 “Divergent Tech” because it combines many classic war ideals with modern technology, such as being able to ride horses with the cavalry alongside tanks, while also flying in overhead and doing bombing runs amongst soldiers barricaded behind the trenches. It's an eclectic mix of historical destruction brought to life with the Frostbite technology.

Part of that eclectic mix is the melee combat. Now melee play has always had a part in the Battlefield franchise, but this time around it plays a strong focal point thanks to the way the trenches work and how embedded both sides will be when it comes to traveling through those trenches.

Some of the melee weapons include swords, shovels and clubs, as well as bayonets and maces. According to DICE, the different melee weapons each offer different styles of play, some are heavier than others while some are quicker than others.

Battlefield's iconic Levolution also makes a return, we get to see some awesome in-engine effects on display, including including increased debris particle effects, along with some impressive crumbling and building deconstruction effects.

You'll get to see a lot of these effects on display across a wide variety of levels that span the entire world, including the Western Front, Fortresses off the seaside, the deserts of Arabia, and the aerial combat taking place over the seas.

And speaking of aerial combat... the Fokker III tri-plane was one of the highlights of the trailer above, but this newest Battlefield will also feature bi-planes, bombers, tanks, boats, scouting vehicles and even motorcycles.

Up to 64-players will be occupying the battlefield in small squads – highlighting the need to focus on teamplay with different classes – and the way the vehicles are setup they will allow entire squads to occupy some of the larger vehicles all at once. For instance, up to five players can operate the larger tanks or flying fortresses that can wreck havoc on the playing field. We even get a tease of a Zeppelin, indicating that the areas will be big enough to support such a massive vehicle.

Another exciting feature is that players will be able to fight with the horses, but they weren't ready to explore details on that aspect just yet. They did note that weapon customization will be present for a large cache of different guns and melee weapons, including specialty weapons such as flamethrowers. These specialty weapons will fit in line with Battlefield's rock, paper, scissors style of play where every weapon and vehicle will have an equal and appropriate counter. They want to enhance this feature further in the upcoming game by improving the gameplay controls by removing the layer between the player and the gameplay.

DICE also plans on holding a multiplayer beta, but details on the beta are expected to be announced during EA Play in June, next month.

The official release date for Battlefield 1 is October 21 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Pre-ordering the game will allow you to access the game early on October 18. Those subscribed to EA Access or Origin Access will be able to play the game early as well.