‘No pre-orders’: Battlefield fans are wary of hopping on the hype train for the newest one right away

Following the reveal of the first piece of concept art and details for the next Battlefield entry, fans are reminding each other to avoid jumping on the hype train. This community feels like it’s been burned before with past entries, and now “no pre-orders” has become its motto.

The first piece of concept art for the next Battlefield game was revealed in an exclusive with IGN. In the accompanying interview piece, Head of Respawn & Group GM for EA Studios Vince Zampella pointed to Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 as the peaks of the franchise’s modern era shooters. While that’s encouraging and exciting news, fans remain skeptical and are trying to hold each other accountable to avoid creating an uncontrollable hype train.

Don’t get carried away

Zampella doesn’t announce that the next Battlefield game, which still doesn’t have an official name, will follow the same path as Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. However, he does point to them as the peak of the series’ modern era. “I mean, if you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it’s that Battlefield 3… Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern.”

For any other series, a situation like this, a return to what fans consider to be the best it ever was, would be a time to rejoice. However, Battlefield fans feel like they’ve been here before with Battlefield V and Battlefield 2042. They’ve gotten excited about a new game before realizing that it just doesn’t live up to the older titles and drop off it almost immediately.

That’s why fans like user Stan Tannev on Twitter are reminding each other not to pre-order the game. It’s the same in comments on this article on the Battlefield subreddit. There’s a sense of genuine excitement for the return to the modern era, but the community is also saying that DICE needs to prove it’s listened.

While pre-orders aren’t the be-all and say-all for a game’s success, they’re a massive early indicator of success. If the Battlefield community stays strong and withholds pre-orders until a multiplayer beta or demo goes live, at the very least, it’ll send a strong message to the powers that be.

Adnan Muse puts the experience of being a Battlefield fan over the last couple of years into context better than anyone. “Bro, they got me last time for $100, NEVER again.”

Gone are the days when AAA games held enough power to guarantee success. Call of Duty, arguably Battlefield‘s biggest competitor, dominates the shooter market. This next entry needs to differentiate itself and stand out in the market if it wants to win back its community and attract newcomers amid a sea of similar shooters that do roughly the same thing. There’s a reason players keep going back to Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 after all.