The same house that created Battlefield Heroes has moved on to full development of a new game in the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield Play4Free, a 32-man competitive shooter that combines "the most popular maps" from Battlefield 2 with the classes and weapons of EA DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
The name of the game and pedigree of the studio should let you in on the Play4Free's big twist: it's a persistent online shooter similar to Battlefield Heroes. By killing dudes and accomplishing other heroic Battlefield feats in Play4Free, you can level up and earn in-game money that you can then use to purchase weapons and items. Or, of course, you can use your real dough to accelerate this process, just like a free-to-play MMO.
EA is holding back other details at the moment, but if you want the skinny earlier than the rest of us, you could sign up for Play4Free's private beta, which is set to kick off on November 30. An open beta, as Big Download notes, is set to start in early 2011, while the final game will launch in spring 2011.
== TEASER ==Play4Free's development doesn't necessarily mean that Battlefield Heroes will no longer be supported. EA did a bit of damage control on the game's blog this week by announcing plans for new content and features for Heroes going forward. The post also says that EA hopes its "fans and community will play both."
But there is a obvious hope that Heroes players will migrate to Play4Free, as a recent post spends a lot of time talking about how Heroes players can get into the aforementioned Play4Free beta or receive special Play4Free perks. For example, anyone who wins a round of Heroes starting now is guaranteed a spot in the beta and will receive baubles in both games as a result (or vice versa). Here's the full list of cross-game stuff outlined in the post:
Between now and the start of the Battlefield Play4Free Open Beta:
- Win at least one round in Battlefield Heroes and be guaranteed a spot in the Battlefield Play4Free Beta, so tell your friends and start playing!
Play in the Battlefield Play4Free Closed Beta AND win at least one round in Battlefield Heroes:
- Get a special Battlefield Play4Free Closed Beta forum tag on Battlefield Heroes.
- Get a special Battlefield Play4Free Closed Beta medal in Battlefield Heroes.
- Get a special Battlefield Heroes medal in Battlefield Play4Free.
- Get a special Battlefield Heroes forum tag on Battlefield Play4Free.
Play in the Battlefield Play4Free Open Beta AND win at least one round in Battlefield Heroes:
- Get a special Battlefield Play4Free Open Beta forum tag on Battlefield Heroes.
- Get a special Battlefield Play4Free Open Beta medal in Battlefield Heroes.
- Get a special Battlefield Heroes medal in Battlefield Play4Free.
- Get a special Battlefield Heroes forum tag on Battlefield Play4Free.
And here's the launch trailer. Those blood puffs are kinda cute aren't they?