Neither DICE nor Electronic Arts has offered any kind of official information about the future of the Battlefield series, but a new rumor is suggesting that the two companies might be preparing a major surprise for long-time fans by delivering a title that takes them back to World War I.



The information comes from the website of an online retailer in Switzerland, which says that the experience is being prepared for the Xbox One from Microsoft, the PlayStation 4 from Sony, and the PC, and that it should be launched on October 25 of this year.
Neither of the two involved companies has delivered any kind of reaction to the listing, and they will probably stay quiet or simply say that they are not interested in commenting on leaks and speculations.
The listing could also be a big mistake on the part of the online store or part of a plan to attract attention to itself.
It would be a big surprise for the franchise to deal with World War I, which was a fascinating conflict on its own but has rarely been explored by any first-person shooter blockbuster because it had relatively limited technology and battles that focus on more organized lines and solid defense than on impressive individual feats.
Battlefield has explored World War II and more recent conflicts all over the world, and the team handling the series at DICE has a reputation for being able to construct interesting mechanics around a wide range of historical moments.
The most recent installment, called Hardline, was created by Visceral Games and offers both single- and multiplayer-driven modes that focus on the conflict between organized crime and law enforcement.
The series has also explored the far future and has spawned a series of two spin-off titles, Bad Company, which focused more on single player and offered a more humorous take on war.
Battlefield is getting an installment before the end of the year Electronic Arts has revealed that a new title is already in development and is set to be offered before 2016 is through, but the company has been reluctant to deliver any specifics about the core mechanics or about the period that it will explore.
The last downloadable content pack for Battlefield Hardline, called Betrayal, is set to launch during the coming weeks.
At the same time, DICE is also working on expanding the experience offered by its more recent Star Wars Battlefront, which has recently received the free update for February, which features both new maps for certain modes and tweaks for the balance.
Starting March, paid DLC for the shooter will start arriving, with gamers able to first visit the Outer Rim and then move to Cloud City and the Death Star, exploring new maps, using eight new heroes and villains and more Star cards.
Presumably, an official announcement about the new Battlefield title will be made in late spring or during the events that Electronic Arts will run alongside E3 2016, and until then, neither of the involved companies will offer any kind of details about their plans.