Could there be trouble brewing for EA’s Battlefield series? Battlefield 1 was a major success, but the upcoming Battlefield V just doesn’t seem to be generating the same kind of excitement. As reported by the Wall Street Journal’s Sarah Needleman, Cowen Group analysts with EA connections say Battlefield V pre-orders have been weak. Both Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 are beating out Battlefield V in terms of pre-orders, and there's fear the game may suffer the same fate as Titanfall 2, which got lost in the shuffle during the busy 2016 holiday season.
$EA pic.twitter.com/XEdeY4nJUe
— Sarah E. Needleman (@saraheneedleman) August 14, 2018
Cowen aren’t the only ones predicting disappointing sales for Battlefield V – as we’ve reported, analysts at Piper Jaffray think Battlefield V may be the “earthenware pot” that gets shattered by the competition this year.
In other concerning Battlefield news, Patrick Söderlund is planning to leave EA. Söderlund was CEO of Battlefield developer DICE until EA bought them in 2006, after which he assumed various high-ranking positions at the publisher, including head of Worldwide Studios and Chief Design Officer. Söderlund was widely seen as one of the chief masterminds of the Battlefield series’ success, and his loss will likely be deeply felt. EA CEO Andrew Wilson had the following to say about Söderlund’s departure:
“Patrick Söderlund has made the decision to move on from EA. After nearly two decades as a pioneer for our company and industry, he will begin a new chapter later this year. […] From his early vision for Frostbite, which has now become a cornerstone for our technology strategy, to being a champion for Players First experiences, Patrick has always ensured we put creative at the center of everything we do. He has also been unwavering in his commitment to building our pipeline of amazing new games to come, and his fingerprints will be on the experiences that we bring to players well into the future.”
Of course, this all may mean nothing. We don’t know how for sure Battlefield V will perform, but it does feel like some of the momentum generated by Battlefield 1 has been lost. We shall see.
Battlefield V storms onto PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on October 19.
