14 DAY TRIAL // The Frostbite 2 engine in the upcoming Battlefield 3 first-person shooter can support up to 256 players in its own multiplayer mode, according to developer DICE, but won't go that high because matches cease to be fun.
A few years ago, many first-person shooters were engaged in an arms race to show who can support the largest number of players in their multiplayer modes.
The battle was eventually won by Zipper Interactive's MAG, which enabled up to 256 players to duke it out on massive maps.
According to DICE CEO Patrick Soderlund, the company's upcoming Battlefield 3 can also support such a high number.
"A lot of people ask us about 64 versus 128 or 256 players. Technically, we can go to 256, we've tried it," he said. "We play tested with 128. You've got to make a game that's fun to play and, arguably, we think that the most fun you can have is when it's between 32 and 40 players."
Soderlund believes that a 64-player limit is the best when doing first-person shooters, which is why this is the actual limit of Battlefield 3 on the PC platform.
On consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game can support up to 24 players.
"We've done substantial research into this and tested 128 and that it's not fun," he continued. "Maybe we haven't done our design work good enough, but we just feel like there's no point in going higher than 64."
While the numbers are still impressive, DICE is certain that the real star of Battlefield 3 will be its Frostbite 2 engine, which was showcased in a stunning video a few weeks ago.
The gameplay footage impressed fans of the series and backed up DICE's claim that Battlefield 3 is a next generation game for current generation platforms.
Sadly, the first-person shooter from the Scandinavian studio has yet to receive a release date, with Electronic Arts, its publisher, limiting itself to saying that it's going to arrive at the end of the year for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.