The next Battlefield has been 'nearly every day' in playtesting for "well over a years' time" and a community-wide test is planned for 2025.

Byron Beede, Battlefield GM, announced today that public playtesting of the next Battlefield title will begin early next year. He also revealed what each Battlefield Studio is working on.

• DICEis responsible for the multiplayer as usual
• Criterion is known for Need for Speed Battlefront and previous Battlefields and is working on both singleplayer as well as multiplayer.
• Motive is working on a singleplayer game. The company that made Star Wars: Squadrons and Dead Space remake, Motive has worked on Star Wars: Dead Space remake.
• Ripple effect developed the Portal custom server mode from Battlefield 2042 and is "working on a brand new Battlefield experience".
• There's also Battlefield Central Tech Team, which "focuses on providing these developers with technology and tools that unlock their capabilities".

Beede says that Battlefield 2042 will be different from what it was a few years back.

EA has acknowledged the disappointment many players felt with Battlefield 2042. Vince Zampella, Respawn's co-founder and series overseer, said this week that EA must "earn back [fans'] faith and get them on our side" by the next Battlefield. He revealed that it will ditch two unpopular features of BF2042, namely specialist characters and 128 player maps.

Beede says that the strategy, which is "Vince’s hallmark," this time, is a cycle consisting of rapid prototyping and playtesting followed by feedback. Beede told investors that they were "obsessed with finding the fun".

EA has also planted the idea that it could be more than one game. They refer to "huge ambitions," and Battlefield "experiences." Beede says that we can expect a "connected universe set in modern times filled with Battlefield experience."

He also revealed "nearly everyday" playtesting, including with Battlefield members, has been going on "for well over a years" and that a "large community-driven testing" program is planned for the beginning of next year. This is a fancy way to say that we can expect closed beta or alpha signups for the new year. This is different from the strategy used for Battlefield 2042 which was announced fairly close to its release with an obligatory Beta just one month before the game came out. (We don't actually know when the new game will be released--it may come out next year.

Beede's comments are interesting because Ripple Effect has been working on a new surprise. The new studio developed Battlefield 2042’s Portal mode which allows players to create their own servers using maps, vehicles, and weapons from old Battlefields. It wasn't the next big thing but it was an interesting way to keep some of the dedicated server culture alive within a live service context. I created a stupid mode in which everyone fell and respawned if they hit the floor. I'm looking forward to finding out what this mysterious Ripple Effect project actually is.