EA adjusts development processes after buggy release Battlefield 4
EA is going to adjust its game development policy after the problems with the release of Battlefield 4. That game was full of errors at launch, which caused a lot of fuss among fans. Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, made this known in an interview with Eurogamer.
Wilson even calls the release of Battlefield 4 unacceptable. The many problems, which mainly occurred in the game’s multiplayer, led, among other things, to DICE having to postpone development of DLC to focus on the bugs. “If you want to tackle so many things in a game like we did with Battlefield 4, there’s a chance you’re overlooking things,” Wilson said.
The relatively poor state of Battlefield 4 during its release has made EA decide to adjust the time in which games are developed, to refine test phases and to adjust the beta testing process, according to Wilson. This should happen in the future when Battlefield 4 is released. However, Wilson does not agree with the opinion of many people who say that Battlefield 4 was released too quickly with the aim of releasing the game at the same time as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. “DICE has had a lot of time this time. We do take responsibility for our mistakes, but there are certain elements in a game that you can only adjust at the last minute because the software for a platform is simply not finished yet.” One and Playstation 4.
With Battlefield 4, the problem, according to Wilson, was that too many new things were put into the game without being sufficiently tested first. “We could choose to keep the game pretty much the same as some developers have done with their franchise, but I stand for innovation and pushing the boundaries.”
The latest Battlefield game, Hardline, will benefit from having had three years in development once it comes out, according to Wilson and Karl-Magnus Troedsson, CEO of DICE. Also, according to Wilson and Troedsson, Hardline will greatly benefit from the improvements DICE has made to the Battlefield engine since the release of Battlefield 4. Hardline relies on the same engine that developed Battlefield 4.
According to Wilson, the improvement of Battefield 4 will continue even if Hardline becomes available. DICE would focus on something the studio calls “parallel development.” Wilson emphasizes that the change of procedure does not mean that EA games will now always be flawless; “That would mean that we can never push boundaries again. I want to be the company that innovates and works creatively.”