‘Battlefield V’ Fortnite-inspired battle royale mode Firestorm delayed until March 2019

EA
DICE

• “Battlefield V” is set to launch on November 20th, but
  it will be missing Firestorm, a Fortnite-inspired battle royale
  mode that has been teased since the game was first
  announced.
• The game’s creators have promised ongoing improvements
  and new content for “Battlefield V” in the months after launch,
  but Firestorm won’t be ready until March 2019.
• The title’s primary competition, “Call of Duty: Black
  Ops 4,” recently joined the battle royale club with its own
  Blackout game mode when the game released in October.

Battle royale video games have quickly become the most popular
sub-genre of first-person shooters, fueled by the popularity of
“Fortnite: Battle Royale” and “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.”
When first unveiling their games at E3 2018, the creators of both
“Battlefield V” and “Call of Duty” announced that the newest
games in their respective series would feature their own battle royale
modes, in an apparent effort to cash in on the trend.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” came out on October 12 and its battle royale mode,
Blackout, has been the game’s most celebrated feature, with
longtime fans and competitive gamers alike commending the game’s
polished take on the genre. Now the developers of “Battlefield V”
have revealed that their battle royale mode, Firestorm, won’t be
ready when the game launches on November 20th. Instead, Firestorm
will arrive in March 2019 as a part of the game’s ongoing content
release schedule.

In an October 24 blog post,
“Battlefield V” developer EA DICE detailed what will be included
in the game on launch day, and how new content and improvements
will be added in the following months. DICE plans to roll out the
World War II shooter’s content in three phases using the game’s
live service, Tides of War. Each new chapter in the Tides of War
service will add new maps, modes, and improvements to the game.

“Battlefield V” will guide
players through the stages of World War II with Tides of
War.
“Battlefield V”/EA
DICE

The first chapter is called Overture and will begin with the
game’s release. Players will be able to play the game’s
single-player campaign, battle on eight different multiplayer
maps, and explore the game’s wide array of weapons and vehicles
for the first time. Chapter 2, named Lightning Strikes, will
arrive in January 2019, incorporating cooperative multiplayer
missions and the classic squad conquest mode. Finally, the third
Chapter, Trial by Fire, will introduce the Firestorm battle
royale mode and a new Greece map in March 2019.

DICE has promised that Firestorm will be a unique battle royale
experience. Like some of the game’s other multiplayer modes,
Firestorm is limited to 64 players with four-person squads, but
the map will be the largest in any “Battlefield” game thus far.
Firestorm will also include the destructible environments and
vehicles that define the series. Beyond fighting other players to
survive, teams will also be able to clear specific objectives on
the Firestorm map to access more valuable equipment during the
match.

While Firestorm is one of the most anticipated additions to
“Battlefield V,” the game looks to have a healthy amount of
content for players to dive into on release. With a roadmap of
updates spanning into Spring 2019, early adopters will also have
a clear idea of what’s on the horizon.

“Battlefield V” will arrive on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on
November 20th. Players who subscribe to EA Origin Access Premier
will be able to play the full game on November 9th, while EA
Access and Origin Access players will be able to try the game
with their play first trial. Those who pre-order the deluxe
edition will gain early access to the game on November 15th.