14 DAY TRIAL // DICE, the developer of the Battlefield series for Electronic Arts, is reluctant to make a new Bad Company title in the franchise as it doesn't really know what fans really liked about the first two titles in the Battlefield spinoffs.
While Battlefield games in recent years have delivered some pretty impressive hardcore military first-person shooter experiences, many fans of the franchise fell in love with the Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2 spinoffs, which told a more personal story in terms of single-player and a more destruction-heavy multiplayer experience.
Now, with Visceral Games developing Battlefield Hardline, a new spinoff, DICE General Manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson has talked with Eurogamer about the odds of seeing a new Bad Company.
"There were some people who were saying, 'why are you building Battlefield Hardline? You should build Bad Company 3 instead'," he said. "We take all this into account when we think about the future, and do franchise strategy. But there's one thing that lingers with Bad Company that we've been asking ourselves: what is it that the people really liked about Bad Company?"
According to DICE, lots of fans have chimed in on this question and offered a huge amount of reasons and aspects they loved about the two games, from the story to the multiplayer and other such things.
"Some people say they found the multiplayer controls faster and more direct. Some people liked the single-player and the characters and the humour. People love different things about it. It's starting to almost get to that place where, if we were to make a sequel to Bad Company, what would than even imply?"
"It's scary to go back and try to remake an old fan favourite when actually no-one can really put their finger on what it is people love."
The odds of seeing another Battlefield Bad Company title are quite big but they depend on a few other factors, according to Troedsson.
"The Bad Company sub brand is something we hold very near and dear. It's never dead. You can always revive it, as with any TV series, movie or IP. It's going to come down to, if people really want it and if a team inside my group really wants to build it, then sure."
Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2 delivered some great experiences and it's going to be interesting to see when DICE eventually revisits the spinoff series and in what shape or form.