Battlefield 5 Battle Royale Firestorm Delayed Until March 2019

Jesse Collins,

October 24, 2018 7:35 PM

EA announced Tides of War roadmap, holding off on Battlefield V's battle royale mode until much later. Is this a smart decision or catastrophic for the upcoming FPS title?

Earlier today, EA put out a blog that showcased the roadmap for post-launch content coming to this year's Battlefield 5. Surpirsingly, one bit of that list stuck out like a sore thumb. Firestorm, Battlefield 5's battle royale mode, won't be making its way into the game until March 2019.

So, let's address the elephant in the room first. Earlier this year, Battlefield V was announced just prior to E3 2018, giving plenty of content, but avoiding the term "battle royale" during the initial presentation. During E3, however, DICE developers did admit that a battle royale mode is coming post-launch. This came due to Call of Duty Black Ops 4 confirming their BR mode, Blackout, not long before. Fans assumed that the mode would make it in soon after, maybe in December or such. Maybe they just needed a little extra polish to get that 64-player experience just right. Nope, today they confirmed Firestorm would be out "Starting in March".

Source: EA
Source: EA

In their live service titled "Tides of War", Battlefront 5 will start their journey only a month after launch, offering the Overture content. This is set to include a new War Story titled "The Last Tiger", a Practice Range mode, cosmetic customization for vehicles, and a new location for Tank Battles in Belgium. This part is set for "Early December to January", meaning it's likely to come out in different parts.

During the months of January, February, and March, the "Lightning Strikes" content will be released as well. A new "Combined Arms" called "Combat Strike" will be available, as well as a mission titled "Grand Operations". Combat Strike will allow up to four players to team up for a co-op experience against AI enemies. Two new multiplayer modes will debut during this time called "Return of Rush" and "Squad Conquest". The classic mode Rush is makes a return, completely revamped. Squad Conquest is a map domination mode that allows 16 players (two squads per team) to go against each other. 

Heading up sometime in March is the Firestorm content, called "Trial By Fire". They explain it similarly to any battle royale game out there, "Mix a shrinking playing field with trademark Battlefield elements such as team play, powerful vehicles, and destruction." In addition to the BR mode, a new map will come in March set in Greece, as well as a new Combined Arms. Of note, there is a new multiplayer mode that is not yet titled on their image, nor detailed within the blog. But, it's there.

In addition to the content, the blug assures players that weekly events will happen throughout the next several months that will have rewards involved. Could this be a potential downfall of Battlefield to wait so long after launch for this year's hottest game mode trend? Or is it smart that they waited for the CoD and Fortnite hype to die down first? In either case, they have the potential to take down PUBG on consoles, if done right.



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