Upcoming Battlefield 1 expansions could include more armies such as Japan, ANZAC, others
A comment made by EA during its call to investors this week seems to imply new armies are being added to Battlefield 1 in the future. But which ones? Westie has a theory.
"Every Battlefield 1 player will have more ways to play throughout the year, with continual game updates, new maps, and three more expansion packs adding new armies, regions and battlegrounds available to the whole community," said EA CEIO Andrew Wilson.
"We're just getting started with our live service plans for this massive game, and later this year, we'll introduce new ways for players to get an even bigger Battlefield 1 experience."
Note the plural use of army in the quote, which has been bolded for emphasis.
We already know the Russian army will be added to Battlefield 1 when In the Name of the Tsar releases in late summer.
But there are two more DLC expansions coming, one of which takes the battle to the sea in Turning Tides. In it, players will "participate in the amphibious warfare of WWI and engage in the daredevil Zeebrugge Raid, the Gallipoli Offensive, and more."
As Westie states in his video, the Zeebrugge Raid was a battle between the British and German Navies. Both armies are already in the game. The Gallipoli Campaign took place on the Gallipoli peninsula, pitting the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) against the Ottoman Empire.
With the northern bank of the Dardanelles strait being an internationally-significant waterway in northwestern Turkey, and one which provided a sea route to the Russian Empire, the Allied powers' intent was to secure it. Russia's allies Britain and France launched a naval attack and landed on the peninsula. The ANZAC landing was already depicted in the single-player campaign, which makes Westie think the army will play a part in this expansion.
Most expansion packs come with four maps, but at present, only two are covered in Turning Tides. Here's where the possibility of Japanese forces being added comes into play. For one, it's an opportunity for DICE to add lesser known battles from Far East into the game. The studio may have also hinted at the inclusion of Japan with the spring update.
Once the patch was applied, players noticed a Japanese-only Dog Tag: Skaura and Murata. The Sakura was a class of naval destroyers used by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the Murata was a Japanese produced service rifle. While the inclusion of Japan has not been confirmed, the possibility is just an educated guess at this point.
Finally, as Westie states, there were more forces involved than many are aware. For example: Bulgaria joined the Central Powers of Germany, Austria, and Turkey during the Balkans Campaign, while Romania allied alongside Russia with Britain and France.
The possibilities for additional armed forces are endless, especially since there isn't much known regarding the fourth expansion, Apocalypse. We do know it will include some of "the most infamous battles of WWI," where players will try to conquer "bitterly contested ground with brutal tools and unique weapons."
We'll just have to see what DICE has in store - when the studio's ready to talk about it.
Until then, there's the Russian army coming to the game with In the Name of the Tsar, which will be revealed in full during EA Play 2017, which takes place the Saturday before E3, June 10.
EA will broadcast its presentation starting at 12pm PT/3pm ET/8pm UK.