Battlefield 5 Battle Royale: Everything We Know So Far

With Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds vying for top spot in the gaming world over the last couple of years, it seemed only a matter of time before other developers and franchises got in on the action. So when Lars Gustavsson of EA DICE revealed that the Battle Royale game mode would be getting the Battlefield treatment at the company's EA Play event at E3, it came as exciting, if not entirely unexpected news.

Battle Royale is the hottest thing in gaming right now, with PUBG amassing an incredible total of over 400 million players since launch, while Fortnite has seen an astonishingly speedy surge in popularity, gaining over 125 million players in its first year and becoming a genuine gaming phenomenon, with celebrities and sport stars joining in on the fun and playing the game in their downtime.

The Fortnite dances and "“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” phrase from PUBG have become part of popular culture, and this new style of game has quickly become one of the world's favourite ways to play, but can Battlefield V's effort have the same sort of impact?

Details on Battlefield 5's take on the classic Battle Royale formula have been relatively scarce, with EA and DICE playing their cards pretty close to their chest regarding this new addition to the franchise, but they have revealed some very interesting information.

First of all, the mode will be entitled Firestorm, presumably in reference to the large ring of fire that surrounds the playing field and gradually closes in over time (more on that later) and we know that it will be squad-based only, at least at the time of launch.

Unlike Fortnite and PUBG, which feature multiple modes and the possibility to pit 100 players all against each other in a battle to be top dog, Firestorm has a maximum player count of 64 and will divide its players up into 16 teams of four, with the team with one or more members left standing at the end being the winners.

This news might be slightly disappointing for players who were hoping for a more robust Battle Royale experience with 100 players and multiple modes, but it falls in line with the franchise's gameplay, which has always put a big focus on teamwork and squad-play. Plus, there's always a possibility of more modes being added in the future as DICE have said they're keen to make a lot of additional content for this game.