Visceral explains why Battlefield: Hardline isn't just a Battlefield 4 expansion

News by Dave Cook Contributor

Published on June 23, 2014

Battlefield: Hardline developer Visceral Games has been accused by fans of making a mere 'expansion' to Battlefield 4, based on how similar both games look and feel to play. However, lead multiplayer designer Thad Sesser has explained in an interview why the shooter is more than that.

It follows EA CEO Andrew Wilson calling the rocky Battlefield 4 launch "unacceptable," and my own heated blog about why his reasons for that shaky start are weak.

Now, PlayStation Lifestyle has asked Sesser to discuss claims that Battlefield: Hardline uses largely the same gameplay, tech, user interface, mechanics, engine features and more as Battlefield 4.

He replied, “Well, obviously the engine’s the same. We’re using Frostbite 3. It’s a fantastic engine. We’ve got improvement incoming. We improved the vehicle physics and so on because, in a cops and criminal setting, vehicle collisions are way more important than in Battlefield.

"So, we’re making fundamental changes under the hood to some of these systems. In terms of the UI, we still want it to be recognizably Battlefield, but we’ve got some changes, we’re listening to user feedback, we’re always soliciting comments and feedback from the players, so if you’ve got specific comments, you got specific feedback, let us know.

"We’re happy to take it in, we’re still a good bit away from release. We got time to make some changes. Let us know what you like, what you don’t like. Tell us why.”

When asked about claims that Battlefield: Hardline could have just been a Battlefield 4 expansion, Sesser responded, “What you see on the [E3 2014] show floor here today is just a small portion of what we got. Obviously, we got a wide range of maps. We got a lot more weapons. We got a lot more cool gadgets. We got a lot more exciting stuff to show you in the upcoming weeks and months. We got a slew of new game modes.

"I think you’ll understand where the value proposition is with this game. There is a lot of new content. It’s not just a re-skin or a re-use of assets. We’ve got all new assets, we got a lot of stuff still coming in, so look forward, check us out in the future, play it, tell us what you think.”

Here's the interview in full: