Can EA’s big-budget gamble pay off?

“A new rival has emerged.”

In the highly competitive world of video games, it is common for new contestants to disappear as soon as they enter the scene.

But Battlefield 6 hopes to change that.

It’s the latest entry in a long-running military shooter series that’s often framed as a grittier, more realistic answer to Call of Duty.

The game has never been able to match its most famous rival in terms of sales and players, but there are signs that the new title could close the gap.

A preview that gave players the chance to try out the game earlier this year broke records over the weekend, and there’s been a lot of excitement leading up to the game’s release.

But the project is still a big gamble for publisher Electronic Arts (EA), which has reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars.

BBC Newsbeat spoke to some producers to find out how they hope this will work out.

Four studios owned by EA are working on the game under the name Battlefield Studios.

These include Sweden-based original series developer Dice, Motive Studios in Los Angeles, and Ripple Effect Studios in Canada.

Fourth, Criterion is headquartered in Guildford, England.

Rebecka Coutaz is the managing director of the two European studios and tells Newsbeat that “Battlefield 6 is probably unbeatable” in terms of what it offers players.

The game followed the futuristic Battlefield 2042, which was released four years ago, to a negative reception that it has struggled to recover from.

“We probably couldn’t have created and developed Battlefield 6 without the knowledge we gained on Battlefield 2042,” Rebekah told Newsbeat.

One of those lessons was getting fans involved early, and the team launched invite-only community playtests earlier this year.

“The feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” says Rebecka.

Another element missing from Battlefield 2042 was the single-player campaign, which was brought back this time.

Criterion design director Fasahat “Fas” Salim is responsible for “making sure these missions are as fun and engaging as possible for players.”

Despite claims that the scale of the project is large had forced different studios Morocco, which is collaborating across continents to develop the game, is positive about the process.

“Collaborating with different cultures, different backgrounds, it’s a really interesting environment to be involved in every day,” he says.

“This whole approach is something new but really exciting because we work with people from all over the world.”

Regarding the expectations from the team, Morocco says: “There is pressure, but it is also exciting.

“This is a big project. Probably the biggest project most of us have ever worked on.”

This is certainly the case for at least one member of the team, lighting artist Vlad Kokhan.

The 21-year-old creates the atmospheric effects that shape the mood, tone and direction of the single-player script.

He interned before taking the job at Criterion and is now working part-time while completing a degree in visual effects at Bournemouth University.

Vlad says he is a long-time fan of the Battlefield series and remembers playing the fourth installment of the series at a friend’s house when he was younger.

It doesn’t “feel real” to be working on this right now as her first job in the industry.

“It’s really crazy to see marketing everywhere,” he says.

“It’s really surreal knowing that I’m bringing my own thing to the game.”

Battlefield 6’s launch is expected to be a big event, and analysts are predicting it could happen Sold up to five million copies in its first week.

But its true success in a volatile and unpredictable industry won’t be clear for months, if not years.

To keep the momentum going, it will need to attract and keep players away from competitors like CoD, Fortnite, and Roblox.

But while the signs are promising, Rebecka remains cautious when asked if she feels confident.

“I would say yes or no, you never know,” he says.

“The only thing that matters to me right now, and I’ve been saying this for four years, is that we don’t let our community and our players down.”

Concerns about the future of Battlefield have also been fueled by recent news that EA has agreed to sell the company to a group led by Saudi Arabia. $55bn (£41bn).

EA took on $20bn (£14bn) of debt as part of a deal known as a leveraged buyout, prompting fans to fear cuts.

The company told staff not to expect “sudden changes” in their jobs.

For Battlefield 6, Rebecka told Newsbeat that the team will continue as planned and has already shared details about monthly updates and content additions.

“I’m here to help our team members produce the best work of their careers, so for me the path hasn’t changed, the path is still the same,” he insists.

EA has been vocal about its plans to use generative AI in game development, and potential new owners are investing in the technology to increase profits. According to The Financial Times.

The tools are controversial, raising concerns from developers and sparking backlash from some fans.

Rebecka told Newsbeat that players won’t see anything done by GenAI in Battlefield 6, but that it was used in the preparation stages “to allow more time and space to be creative.”

Rebecka says GenAI is “very seductive,” but there is currently no way to incorporate it into the developer’s day-to-day work.

Still, he shares his optimism about EA’s potential.

“If we can break the spell with artificial intelligence, it will help us be more innovative and more creative,” he says.

According to Morocco, GenAI is “not something to be afraid of in our industry.”

“We are used to things changing, especially since we work in an environment where technology is on the cutting edge,” he says.

“It’s just a matter of how we can efficiently incorporate this into our workflows, how we can leverage it to take our games to the next level.”

But for now, the team’s focus is on completing the launch of Battlefield 6.

“We spend a lot of time behind closed doors doing these things,” Morocco says.

“But when it gets into the players’ hands and you see them having a great time, people screaming, people getting excited, that’s something we’ve been working towards for years.

“This is what a lot of our game developers are looking forward to. We just want to see people play the game and then get excited.”

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