The next Battlefield has a Warzone-like battle royale mode, and is bringing back two of Battlefield 5's forgotten features - report

Battlefield fans have officially entered one of the early stages of anticipation of the next title: hope. After the disappointing launch of the often criticised Battlefield 2042, DICE is going back to basics with the next Battlefield.

The series’ new boss, Vince Zampella, confirmed as much in a recent IGN interview, which has injected a healthy dose of hopium into the veins of many of us. The good news doesn't stop there, however, as new leaks have revealed even more to get excited about.

According to a new report from Insider Gaming, the next game - which reportedly doesn’t actually have a full name internally - is aiming to have 45 weapons at launch, and around ten multiplayer maps. That weapon count may not be significant compared to games like Call of Duty, but it’s double the number of Battlefield 2042’s launch weapons, and is much closer to some of the most beloved Battlefield games - such as Battlefield 3 and 4.

Battlefield 3 and 4, in particular, appear to be the next Battlefield’s biggest inspirations - just look at the game’s first piece of concept art. Indeed, launching with ten maps would put the next title close to those classics, in terms of launch content, at least. Speaking of maps, the game’s conflict will reportedly span the United States, Gibraltar (the setting of that concept art), as well as various other locations around the world.

Ripple Effect’s main focus appears to be on a “new experience,” which the report says is a free-to-play, battle royale game very much akin to Call of Duty: Warzone. The mode’s main map is said to be a tropical one, seemingly akin to Warzone’s so-so Caldera. EA has long wanted to replicate Activision’s CoD production model with Battlefield, and the publisher has hired the right people to make that happen, including some who’ve lead Call of Duty at Activision.

The game’s narrative is said to be telling a story about a NATO conflict against a private military company that takes place between 2027 and 2030, according to the report. It’s good to hear that EA is bringing back campaign mode, after it was snubbed in BF2042.

On multiplayer, the report says destruction is going to be overhauled, allowing for calibre-based destruction. This actually sounds quite similar to Battlefield 5’s version of destruction, which reacted differently to different weapons, artillery, heavy armour and so on. Another feature that was shown and discussed prior to the launch of Battlefield 5, but never actually made it in, will seemingly finally see the light of day in the next title, too.

Alongside some unspecified changes to movement, players will supposedly be able to pick up and move downed teammates, which sounds quite similar to BF5’s ill-fated drag-to-cover mechanic. As the report suggests, the feature has seemingly been designed with battle royale in mind, where it’s going to make the most sense. That said, all experiences will utilise the same mechanics, so it’s bound to get some use in regular multiplayer, too.

So much of that vision will become clearer early next year, when we expect some sort of early community testing to take place. Suffice it to say, Battlefield fans are very eager to get their hands on this one.