Battlefield 2018 is about to be revealed in the next two weeks. The latest installment of DICEs shooter flagship, Battlefield 1 is already two years old and its successor has been hinted at with a painting of a white horse as part of an easter egg inside the game. Here are five possible settings for Battlefield 2018, ranking from the least likely to the most likely setting:
#5 - Line Infantry Warfare
The EA slogan for Battlefield 2018 is already known as "Battlefield will never be the same" - this could be a hint something completely new awaits the players. Why not a completely new and fresh scenario like they did with Battlefield 1 again and present us a Shooter which is set in the Napoleonic age of muskets, cannons and infantry lines? The horse-mechanics of BF1 could be implemented here again and it would also fit the easter egg white-horse perfectly. However, there has never been am AAA-shooter set in this time period, so it is possible that such an experiment would be too risky for EA and DICE.
#4 - Cold War
The Cold War is the intermediate era between the Second World War and Modern Warfare era. It offers many exotic places for a shooter like Vietnam (Battlefield already covered this area a long time ago), Korea and Afghanistan. Its trump could be a good combination of modern weaponry and the absence of the auto-lock-on-devices of Modern Warfare. The only reason for EA and DICE not to take this scenario is the fact that the battlefields of the cold war have been a series of assymetrical fights between a superpower (US or USSR) and a minor faction like the Taliban, the Vietnamese or Koreans, as US and Russia never fought each other directly.
#3 - Future Warfare
The last Battlefield which was set in the future was BF2142, which has been released a long time ago. BF4 had many elements of BF2142 in its last DLC, which many thought was a hint that a remake of BF2142 is near. However, that never has been announced until now, so maybe now is the time to reveal BF2143 with its great artistic freedom for weapons, vehicles and even behemoths. Like a scenario in the far past, a scenario in the far future would be a risky endeavour too, since the jetpack-and-laser-shooter genre is currenty overrepresented in the past installments of the Call of Duty series and is currently being rejected by most of its own fans.
#2 - Modern or Near-Future Warfare
With the latest modern warfare installment of the franchise being the now-well-received Battlefield 4, many fans would like to see the dynamic of Modern Warfare on the current WarScape engine. With the present conflicts in Ukraine, Middle East, Africa and the tensions in East Asia as well as the North Sea, Battlefield could become not only a more authentic experience but also a controversial one. Sure, not many players will agree that Battlefield 4 or even 3 are still looking good enough to not be replaced by a newer installment, but the Modern Warfare setting is enjoyed by a lot of potential customers, so EA and DICE could very well surprise us with a first-class game set on the battlefields of our time.
#1 - The Second World War
There are many reasons why DICE and EA are likely to reveal the only consequent sequel for BF1 and the First World War - a game set in the Second World War! Last year, the series main competitor Call of Duty made a return to its roots by producing a similar game, even though it was very limited in its content and gameplay. Battlefield now has the opportunity to offer gamers not only the best looking World War 2 experience so far but also build on the already excellent foundation laid by Battlefield 1 and expand its arsenal by more vehicles and weapons. The only thing which could go wrong is the fact that a Battlefield set in WW2 could be way too similar to its predecessor, as BF1 has been a hybrid of trench warfare and WW2-style warfare from its conception.
