Battlefield V’s update 4.6 is out now, and while it makes a few quality-of-life changes and brings the Al Sundan map to Conquest mode, it mostly focuses on fixing bugs. The patch follows a string of disappointments for players, including the news last month of Battlefield V’s 5v5 mode cancellation.
Some of the content for Battlefield V’s fourth chapter that DICE revealed at the EA Play Battlefield V presentation was either delivered full of bugs or scrapped altogether. The Battlefield V Al Sundan map, for example, launched in June for some modes but was too buggy for its planned Conquest mode release, and Chapter 4’s launch introduced several bugs to the game. These weren’t Battlefield V’s first problems, though. The game launched with a list of issues and missing content - some of which never made it into the game - and the entire Firestorm Duos mode was removed because people weren’t playing it. The decision to cancel 5v5 mode was made for similar reasons, as DICE said there wasn’t much community interest in the mode. But these scrapped modes added to a history of unmet expectations for players, and DICE is working to correct that.
Before posting the full patch notes to Reddit, Battlefield Community Manager Adam Freeman posted a separate Reddit thread, titled “Setting fair expectations for Update 4.6.” Freeman explained that the update would fix the top three issues DICE had been monitoring since the launch of update 4.4, but let players know the much-requested private games feature would not be coming in update 4.6. Freeman also said planned changes to the Firestorm battle royale mode, like a new loot system and an Apex Legends-style respawn mechanic, were being put on hold and reevaluated. In the full patch notes, Freeman detailed what update 4.6 would be bringing to the game, including UI changes, new weapons throughout October and gameplay tweaks when lying prone.
In a reply to a separate Reddit thread, Freeman explained that, since 5v5 mode’s cancellation, DICE has decided to limit making any promises of additional content until they’re absolutely sure it will work. In the patch notes thread, he said that even though the community would like prior notice of an update’s release, DICE has to remain silent about upcoming changes in order to avoid even more community backlash if developers run into issues and an update is delayed.
Battlefield V’s Chapter 5 is set to release this fall, but it remains to be seen if DICE will run into issues similar to those it met in Chapter 4. While the private games feature didn’t hit its September release window, Freeman said the Operation Underground map will arrive in October as planned, so that could be good news for the future of the game. All Battlefield V fans can hope is that DICE’s new “we’ll talk about it when it’s ready” strategy will yield good outcomes.
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Source: DICE
