Despite being hyped as one of 2013’s biggest releases, many players would agree that publisher Electronic Arts (EA) and developer DICE dropped the ball with Battlefield 4. The game was heavily criticized upon launch for issues surrounding its multiplayer. Network problems plagued the game even several months after release (such as the rubber-banding and death shield bugs) and it even led to EA being sued, with shareholders accusing the publisher of knowing about these issues before Battlefield 4 shipped.

With that controversy swept under the rug (or laying dormant, at least), EA went back to the drawing board with Battlefield Hardline. The game was pitched as a cops vs. robbers, high stakes adventure, with players being able to find fun in the game’s multiplayer mode (which featured gameplay such as speedy vehicle pursuits) and its single player which was set up like television show, complete with “here’s what happened last time” vignettes. Hardline reviewed fairly positively but many have wondered where the series will go from here.

One thing’s for certain and that’s the fact that the next Battlefield game will be released in 2016. During EA’s latest investor call, the company’s CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Blake Jorgensen stated that “our intention over the next couple of years is to have a first-person shooter as one of the core titles. This year, obviously, it’s Star Wars Battlefront. Next year, it’s another Battlefield title.” Back in October, 2014, EA CEO Andrew Wilson explained that players want to play their games for longer, with more time in between releases, and so this new shooter release strategy should help players “explore the depth and innovation in [EA’s] shooter titles.”

The actual content of the next Battlefield game is being kept under wraps for now, although EA has previously confirmed that the game will be a return to Battlefield‘s militaristic roots, while in 2013, DICE producer Patrick Bach promised that the next game would have “more features, more extras, and more destruction”. Some players are hoping that the next Battlefield will be set in World War 2 as the series has not touched on that setting since Battlefield 1943, Call of Duty hasn’t visited WW2 since Call of Duty: World at War, and Gearbox Software’s Brothers in Arms reboot is still in its very early stages.

Furthermore, it also seems unlikely that the next Battlefield game will have a future setting, either. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Star Wars Battlefront both releasing this year (within weeks of each other, too), releasing another game with a futuristic setting just a year later could be seen as overkill. Player fatigue is regarded as the reason why Call of Duty‘s sales have been in decline over the years and so EA will not want to follow suit with their rival shooter franchise.