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Another Battlefield Play4Free studio GM leaves EA
Oskar Burman, general manager of Battlefield Play4Free and Battlefield Heroes developer Easy Studios, has departed from Easy and its parent EA. He's the second GM to leave the position, after Ben Cousins, who left to join ngmoco's Sweden-based studio.Burman has yet to reveal his next destination, though he does have a plan. "New thing is exciting," he noted on Twitter. "More info soon." Whatever the new thing is, it is still in Stockholm.
EA now has 25 million registered Play4Free accounts worldwide
EA's move into the freemium market appears to be working, with the company boasting yesterday that it now has a total of 25 million registered players across all Play4Free titles. Of course, that number is far less impressive if those people aren't actively playing, but that hasn't stopped EA from patting itself on the back and calling the number a "remarkable achievement." For those keeping score at home, that's 25 million registered players combined in Battlefield Heroes, Need for Speed World, Battlefield Play4Free, Dragon Age Legends, Battleforge and Lord of Ultima. Battlefield Heroes and Need for Speed World are the top dogs, each with a registered base of players exceeding ten million.The remaining five million comes from the total players registered in the other four games. "Developing a community of 25 million players is a remarkable achievement. It is a testament to the explosive growth of the free-to-play market and a reflection of EA's commitment to spearheading the digital transformation," said Play4Free VP Sean Decker in the press release. As a thanks to the community for taking time to at least register for its games, EA is offering some free in-game bux for its two heavy hitters: entering promo code EQ9M-TYYT-TXR3-5GU3 will net players 300 Battlefunds in Battlefield Heroes, while promo code EWPD-3KGA-VBVF-9HYS is good for 750 SpeedBoost in Need for Speed World. Codes expire on January 17, 2012 at 12:00 AM GMT.
Battlefield Play4Free implements weapon customization
EA's Battlefield Play4Free has added weapon customization to the freemium title. Check out the video on the gun lovin' feature and head over to the game's site for the FAQ on the new system.
Battlefield Play4Free deploys launch trailer, screens
Battlefield Play4Free is available now on the internets for PC (a Mac version seems unlikely). Watch this new trailer and then take the hectic shooter, which combines elements of Battlefield 2 and Bad Company, for a test drive. It says it's free right there in the title.
Benjamin Cousins leaves EA ahead of Play4Free launch
Today marks the beginning of the closed beta testing process for Battlefield Play4Free (with an open beta set to kick off April 4) -- making the announcement of EA Easy boss Ben Cousins' departure all the more perplexing. Cousins recently announced his exit from the developer on Twitter, saying he's "very proud of what I've achieved in the last 4 years." He didn't say what his next job opportunity is, only teasing, "soon as I can, I let everyone know." Cousins was instrumental in the development of EA's recent salvo of free-to-play titles like Battlefield Heroes, Lord of Ultima and BattleForge, which actually made the transition from a retail release to an F2P title. We wish Cousins the best of luck at whatever his new home may be, and hope that he continues to make things cost zero money. You're doing the Lord's work, Ben.
Battlefield Play4Free closed beta granted 'access' to 600K participants; Mac version doubtful
Battlefield Play4Free senior producer James Salt told us this week at GDC that the game's closed beta granted access to 600,000 participants; who obviously weren't all online at the same time. He explained that's why for the open beta, starting in April, Easy studio is planning a staggered launch, to avoid a massive "day one" spike of concurrent players that would crash the game. Asked about a Mac version of the free-to-play title, Salt said the game runs on the fifth generation of the Battlefield engine, which was designed for PC. Even if a Mac version could be ported, the update schedule required for a title like this would necessitate a seperate Mac team at Easy for the game -- which isn't currently in place. "It still might happen," Salt added. "But it's going to be quite a fight to make it be [on Mac]." %Gallery-106828%
Battlefield Play4Free plans staggered launch, open beta on April 4
Joystiq got to see Battlefield Play4Free in action late last night at GDC 2011 and, while a full interview is still incoming, we were able to get details on the plans for next month's beta launch. Right now the game is in closed beta, and we were told that at peak times, developer EAsy has "a few thousand" players enjoying the game so far. On March 31, EA plans to send out codes for the beta to players of other Battlefield games, including the also free-to-play Battlefield Heroes, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Then, on April 2, invites will go out to selected followers on Twitter and Facebook, and finally, on April 4, EA will open the game up for a public beta, with an official launch later on this year. So mark your calendars: Assuming everything goes according to EA's plan, you could be sniping fools and earning battlefunds as soon as 4/4. Stay tuned for more about the title from the hands-on event.
Battlefield Play4Free dev details Training Point customization
Colin Clarke, a game designer from EA's Easy who's currently working on the Battlefield Play4Free microtransaction-based shooter, has posted some information on the official blog about how the game's class customization system will work. Rather than just choosing to play as a Recon, Medic, Assault or Engineer character, each player will get to fill out two different ability trees: one powering up "Equipment Expertise" (which allows your equipment to be stronger and more versatile) and one working with "Combat Expertise" (which adds versatility regardless of equipment). In other words, one Recon player can spec Equipment and take down targets from long range, while another can go Combat, and actually explore the battlefield, finding and flanking targets as needed. Both, says Clarke, should be valid ways to play, but the plan is that choosing Engineer won't necessarily lock you into one specific playstyle. It's an interesting take on designing and creating a character built for an online shooter like this. Battlefield Play4Free is still in closed beta, though EA is taking registrations right now.
Battlefield Play4Free launches closed beta
If you've been waiting patiently for a free-to-play Battlefield game ... what's the deal? Battlefield Heroes has been available since last June. But if you've been waiting for a different free-to-play Battlefield game, the freemium Battlefield 2/Bad Company 2 hybrid Battlefield Play4Free has started its closed beta. The game is set to launch for real in the spring. EA distributed beta invites to fans who submitted videos detailing their desire to play. An email form on the site is available for those who want to try out the new game but who didn't feel like putting together videos -- and haven't received an invite yet.%Gallery-106828% [Thanks, Bradley]
Battlefield Play4Free engages hostiles in Spring 2011
Following a tease earlier this week, EA has announced Battlefield Play4Free this morning, a freemium title that will support 32-player online warfare. The game will activate in the spring of 2011 but, if you just can't wait, you can enlist early and test out the closed beta beginning November 30. Aesthetically -- and, apparently, in tone -- BP4F appears to be a departure from EA's other freemium warfare title, Battlefield Heroes, which has a cartoony, colorful nature (though the two games will share a single "battlefunds" wallet, confirms Ben Cousins of developer Easy, an EA Games studio). Easy's Battlefield Play4Free will combine maps from Battlefield 2 with the classes and weapons found in the hit (and neglected) Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Players can drive 16 different vehicles, including the F35 VTOL (vertical take-off landing) jet fighter -- which certainly isn't found in BFBC2. Players will progress through the game to learn skills or, as you've probably already guessed, drop some f'real bling to pimp out their soldier. %Gallery-106828%
EA kind of announces 'new, unannounced' Battlefield game
According to a tweet from Ben Cousins, general manager of EA's Easy studio, Battlefield fans can start looking forward to a new entry in the franchise. Easy handles free-to-play online games for EA, such as Lord of Ultima and Battlefield Heroes, and this Friday, the studio will show its "new, unannounced" Battlefield game to London press for the first time, Cousins tweeted. Given Easy's current projects, we're inclined to guess the new Battlefield will be another freemium entry in the online space. Of course, does it even exist? It's still "unannounced," after all -- actually, wait, wasn't that tweet kinda the announcement? We're going to need to lay down. Our brain suddenly hurts.
