14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer Visceral Games and publisher Electronic Arts have announced that they are planning to launch a free piece of downloadable content for Battlefield Hardline, called Blackout, in the coming weeks, adding a range of new content for the entire player community to enjoy.
The theme of the new pack is darkness and the way it affects the core mechanics of the experience and forces gamers to tweak their strategies in order to dominate the various maps and modes.
Visceral Games states in the official announcement that Blackout will become part of a major coming update for Battlefield Hardline that will include a number of improvements for the core mechanics although no clear list has been offered.
When it comes to maps, gamers will be able to launch matches on the all-new Night Job and Night Woods, which are versions of Bank Job and Backwoods that take place under the cover of darkness.
Night vision goggles are being introduced in order to give gamers a simple way to track enemy movement in the new environments, although the technology comes with its own drawbacks.
A new version of the RO933 and a new battle rifle are also being introduced via Blackout for both factions in Battlefield Hardline.
The free downloadable content pack will also introduce more camo options, assignments, patches for gamers to use and new music for the soundtrack.
At the moment, the DLC does not have an official launch date, and it seems that it will be offered on the PC, the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 and older home consoles.
Blackout will also improve stability and usability
Visceral Games says that it is also doing a lot of work on the Spectator mode in Battlefield Hardline to make it easier for gamers to watch the best players in the community battle each other, which should also make the shooter more interesting to the competitive gaming crowd.
There are also plans to improve the stability of the title and to make it easier for gamers to navigate it.
The announcement of Blackout as a free downloadable content pack might be a sign that the player population for Battlefield Hardline is declining faster than Electronic Arts wants.
The publisher still has plans to launch two other paid DLCs for the first-person shooter, called Betrayal and Getaway, in the coming months, and it needs the fan community to remain engaged to make sure that they are profitable from a commercial standpoint.
The company has already sold a Premium service to gamers, which allows them to access all coming content two weeks before the rest of the players.
Battlefield Hardline is the first game in the franchise that does not use a military theme and many fans have criticized the choice and have pledged to boycott its launch.
A new Battlefield title with a military theme, which is apparently created by a team at DICE, is at the moment set to arrive on the PC, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 in the autumn of next year.
