Oskar Gabrielson, General Manager of EA Dice, announced that Battlefield V will be delayed for a month.
Gabrielson reveals [easyazon_link identifier=”B07FKVZD39″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Battlefield V[/easyazon_link] will have a new launch date of November 20, 2018. It was previously scheduled to be released on October 19, 2018.
He then explains why the game is being delayed explaining they are going to ” make some meaningful improvements to the core gameplay experience, including adjusting the gameplay tempo, improving soldier visibility and reducing player friction.”
He would also add they are “going to take the time to continue to make some final adjustments to core gameplay, and to ensure we really deliver on the potential of Tides of War.”
But if you’ve been following the Battlefield V saga since June, it’s quite possible there is a much bigger reason why the game is being delayed.
Back at E3, EA DICE released the trailer for Battlefield V and a ton of players began to criticize the trailer because of its historical inaccuracies as well as its steampunk-like aesthetics and even battle royale features similar to Fortnite.
But instead of listening to their potential custumers, EA Chief Creative Officer Patrick Söderlund instead lashed out at fans and called them “uneducated.”
“These are people who are uneducated—they don’t understand that this is a plausible scenario, and listen: this is a game. And today gaming is gender-diverse, like it hasn’t been before. There are a lot of female people who want to play, and male players who want to play as a badass [woman].”
He even advised them not to buy the game:
“And we don’t take any flak. We stand up for the cause, because I think those people who don’t understand it, well, you have two choices: either accept it or don’t buy the game. I’m fine with either or. It’s just not ok.”
It was so much of a storm that the official subreddit for Battlefield even started to censor critics of the upcoming title. Though the Mods of the sub decided to just create a “MegaThread” after another wave of users criticized them for censoring complaints of historical accuracy.
Definitely not the greatest sales pitch. Following the debacle, Söderlund would announce that he would be moving on from EA.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson wrote an open letter to the company’s employees earlier this month stating:
“Today we are announcing that Patrick Söderlund has made the decision to move on from EA. After neatly two decades as a pioneer for our company and industry, he will begin a new chapter later this year.”
Of course, the story didn’t end there. Earlier this month, it was reported that pre-sales of Battlefield V were extremely poor.
Analyst Doug Creutz stated that “EA’s Battlefield V currently appears to potentially be headed for serious disappointment.” He added, “It is lagging far behind Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Assassin’s Creed.”
He concluded, “If we had to pick one game to be a casualty of the crowded October window, this would clearly be it.”
While Creutz pointed to competition making Battlefield V the loser, it wasn’t holding back [easyazon_link identifier=”B071JRHDFQ” locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Call of Duty[/easyazon_link], [easyazon_link identifier=”B07G9WK8GS” locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Red Dead Redemption 2[/easyazon_link], and [easyazon_link identifier=”B07DKYN13M” locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Assassin’s Creed[/easyazon_link].
It’s more than likely these depressed sales are a direct result of Patrick Söderlund’s response to fans and consumers. It also comes just a year after EA faced intense criticism for how it handled Star Wars Battlefront 2.
What do you think, is Oskar Gabrielson’s reasoning behind the delay accurate? Or is EA trying to save face and attempting to avoid an embarrassing showing for their title?