Battlefield may not be annualized, DICE "can't build a game every year," says Bach

Battlefield 4 executive producer Patrick Bach has said not to expect the Battlefield series to be annualized, as the team at DICE "can't build a game every year."

Speaking with Videogamer at gamescom, Bach used Battlefield Premium as an example of the franchise containing "year round" content, which the firm hopes keep fans placated until another game in the series can be introduced.

"I think the core Battlefield idea that we're working on at DICE is… We can't build a game at DICE every year," said Bach regarding a Battlefield release in 2014.

It's also possible the series could evolve into a singular platform which grows with new content releases.

"Maybe it [could]," Bach said. "[That's] something that we've actually started noticing as well. Maybe it's a really smart thing to do; maybe it's the completely wrong thing to do. We can see that some games are actually doing it already, like MMOs. You have some free-to-play games [that] continue on the same platform.

"So I think it's more about the audience and getting all the ducks in a row, so to speak.

"You saw with Battlefield 3, for instance, it's not that there's not an urge for more Battlefield. We [had] 18 months worth of Battlefield [through Premium] and people want more things during that time. Now it's been almost two years and people feel like they are continuously playing – we still have huge amounts of players playing Battlefield 3.

"So I think in general, people apparently want Battlefield all year round."

Battlefield 4 launches October 29 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 with PS4 and Xbox One versions slated during the launch windows.