Battlefield Play4Free Announced, Coming In Spring 2011

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.

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.

Derp

Best thing about the trailer for this is the theme song

Derp

" @JustTheDoctor

Derp

 Insightful"

Has the return of sir Nukem also finally inspired the return of the non-cinematic video game soundtrack?

This rendition of the Battlefield theme sounded very Duke Nukem-y, and though generic, I like it a lot more than all the generic EPIC CINEMATIC ORCHESTRAL MOVIE SOUNDTRACK that every game since 2003 has been plagued with.

I'll try it.

@Valwryn said:

" @JustTheDoctor

Derp

 Insightful"

Fixed*

Every bit of news coming out of EA makes me less and less confident that BF3 won't just be another Call of Duty clone.

Um... problem:
 
" 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 November 2011, while the final game will launch in spring 2011"
 
So... the private beta is going down a year before the open beta, which will be half a year after the game launches? Can someone give me a correction?

Cool, but I'll probably stick with battlefield 2 itself, or bad company 2. This hybrid isn't exactly filling any gaps in my battlefield needs. 

but wasn't Battlefield Heroes not very good? And didn't you have to use actual money to get anywhere with that game?

Why do they keep announcing stuff with battlefield except what everyone actually wants.... 

" but wasn't Battlefield Heroes not very good? And didn't you have to use actual money to get anywhere with that game? "

Looks alright, will give it a "shot"!

That map looks like Strike at Karkand, aka best battlefield 2 map (they just have to do something to balance out the bridge chokepoint...)

" Um... problem:
 
" 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 November 2011, while the final game will launch in spring 2011"  So... the private beta is going down a year before the open beta, which will be half a year after the game launches? Can someone give me a correction? "

Awful name but cool.

I wish EA would concentrate their resources on their current products, not keep spreading themselves so thin across so many others, namely BC2 and the vietnam expansion.

When I heard they were announcing a new Battlefield I was hoping it would be 1942 for free (with updated graphics). A bit bummed, but this doesn't look bad.

I really hope this is nothing like Battlefield Heroes.

Guys this is battlefield 2 wtf

They are doing to much with the Battlefield name, it seems like every FPS coming out of EA has something to do with Battlefield or Dice.

Wait, so if Free To Play abbreviates to F2P, then this game is... F2P4F?

Pretty cool. I spent many hours playing Strike at Karkand. I really just want to see BF3 though.

This looks awesome O_O

So this is separate from Battlefield 3? Interesting, EA continues this effort to throw everything at the wall at once with Battlefield and a surprising amount of it is sticking.

EA REALLY wants in that microtransaction/ad supported market that Zynga is dominating in

Very good music. 
 
@Nadafinga said:

" I wish EA would concentrate their resources on their current products, not keep spreading themselves so thin across so many others, namely BC2 and the vietnam expansion. "

" Guys this is battlefield 2 wtf "

Cmon Bf2 is like, 10 bucks. just go buy it and get a good game

To everyone wondering why to play this game: go play BFH sometime. It's nice and relaxed, because you're only playing against idiots. The better question is why not play it?

" Why do they keep announcing stuff with battlefield except what everyone actually wants....  "

What a terrible name. Other then that it's neat I guess? I think I'd rather just pay $60 upfront for a more quality game, though. At least, if Heroes was any indication.

" That map looks like Strike at Karkand, aka best battlefield 2 map (they just have to do something to balance out the bridge chokepoint...) "

" Why do they keep announcing stuff with battlefield except what everyone actually wants....  "

It's basically a stripped down Battlefield 2 - or at least that's what it looks like. If you already have BF2 there really is no point in getting this.

Free game; can't really complain, if you think about it. No doubt they'll pull other F2P's and make 'elite' stuff achievable through paying real money at launch, but it's still a free game.

Yeah, Strike at Karkand!

I think I'd rather just play Battlefield 2...

may as well just go buy BF2, i mean it's practically free by now right?

Probably a much smarter move to put "play4free" in the title. Might not be elegant, but it certainly gets the point across.

I have 10 bucks that say they are going to fuck this one up even worse than bf heroes.

I'd rather just pay the $50-$60 and have it over with. 
 
They're clearly prepping a new generation of gamers for BF3, at least.