Battlefield 4 "absolutely" damaged player trust - DICE
Producer David Sirland says the studio has made changes to ensure they won't see a repeat of last year's launch problems
In March, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen told investors that the publisher hadn't "seen any damage" to the Battlefield brand after a litany of issues impacted Battlefield 4 in the months following its launch. The current messaging to players is a bit different, as DICE LA producer David Sirland told GameSpot today that the audience's faith in the series clearly took a hit.
"I can absolutely say that we lost [player] trust in the game's launch and the early parts of the year," Sirland said. "We still probably have a lot of players who won't trust us to deliver a stable launch or a stable game. I don't want to say anything because I want to do. I want them to look at what we're doing and what we are going to do and that would be my answer. I think we have to do things to get them to trust us, not say things to get them to trust us. Show by doing."
Sirland said he was certain the launch of Battlefield Hardline would not be a repeat of Battlefield 4's launch, due in part to an earlier beta testing period. (The Battlefield Hardline beta was held in June, and its release was subsequently pushed back from this month to early next year in response to fan feedback.)
"It's just a giant project, any Battlefield game is a giant project," Sirland said. "And the more input you can get early, the better, and the more you can be open with changes you're making or ideas you have, the better, I think. Because our community is much smarter than we probably give them credit for."