Battlefield won't go free-to-play on consoles, PC any time soon

Battlefield will remain a premium experience on consoles and PC for multiple years, EA today confirmed.

EA says that free-to-play makes sense for Battlefield, but the company currently has no plans to roll out a F2P Warzone-like experience for the franchise any time soon. The Battlefield mobile game will come first, and then possibly F2P later on.

During EA's Q2'22 earnings call, company CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed that a F2P Battlefield component isn't a core focus right now. The new $69.99 Battlefield 2042 premium release is the core framework for the entire future of the franchise with its massive 128-player multiplayer chaos. In short, Battlefield 2042 is the reboot for the IPs premium presence, and the new free-to-play mobile game will address the smartphone market. After that, a F2P Warzone-like competitor could happen...but not for a while.

"When we build a new game we think about a number of things, with innovation and creativity at its core, how do we build modality in play, how do we create for platform. Overtime it makes sense to have a F2P component in that ecosystem in the future."

"As we think about further expanding, we think F2P will help the franchise. But it's not the focus right now."

"Job number 1 was to recreate the franchise...and innovate. The next phase is the launch of Battlefield mobile. That in of itself will serve tens of millions of players."

The story is still developing.