New Leak Claims Battlefield V’s Battle Royale Mode Could Be Free-To-Play
Battlefield V’s Battle Royale mode could be free-to-play if sales of the game are disappointing, according to a source.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, sent the information via email to the Giant Bombcast and suggested that, while the number of pre-orders for the game are much better than EA’s last blockbuster shooter, they may still be considering ways to improve sales.
Maybe you saw fans freaking out over the report that Battlefield V pre-orders are weak. Some are already comparing it to Titanfall 2 because it is coming out right around Red Dead 2 and Call of Duty. That’s pretty far off base. Let’s put it this way: Battlefield V pre-orders have already outsold Titanfall 2’s week-one sales and pre-orders, and EA isn’t going to let the game underperform too drastically.
In terms of what EA may do to encourage people to purchase Battlefield V, the source’s first suggestion was the possibility of the battle royale mode being released for free, with in-game extras for players who own the full game.
A remaster of Bad Company 2 was also mentioned, with Giant Bombcast host Jeff Gerstmann agreeing that he had heard something similar.
For one, it could make it’s battle royale mode free-to-play with bonuses for people who own Battlefield V to make up the revenue difference, but it is also considering including something huge as part of its post-release content that means to boost sales of Battlefield V propper. That would be a remastered version of Battlefield Bad Company 2 a la the Modern Warfare remaster that Activision bundled with Infinite Warfare
Unfortunately, there is no way to confirm these claims, but the fact that Gerstmann had previously heard rumor of the Bad Company 2 remaster gives some credibility to the source.
While Battlefield V is scheduled to release on October 19, 2018, the Battle Royal mode is not expected to arrive until after the game has launched.