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Battlefield Hardline doesn’t mean DICE will stop work on Battlefield 4

Three teams will ensure that future Battlefield 4 DLC does not break the game. As it has in the past.

Since a game named Battlefield Hardline emerged prematurely from Battlelog’s database, we’ve seen quiet acknowledgements from EA and gushing missives from Visceral Games. The only people we haven’t heard from are DICE – the custodians of the entire Battlefield series, until now.

“I want to be sure you all understand that introducing Hardline in no way means we’re done working on Battlefield 4,” said DICE president Karl Magnus Troedsson today. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” 

Troedsson outlined a future for Battlefield 4 built on continued support, mystery new features, an expanded community test environment, and something that community has been clamouring for – a major netcode patch.

“The Visceral team is leading the development of Hardline, while the DICE team continues to drive BF4,” explained Troedsson in a post titled ‘To All Battlefield Fans’. “We are committed to giving you the best BF4 experience possible.”

Dedictated teams in Stockholm, Uppsala and at DICE’s newest studio in LA are still working to counter bugs in Battlefield 4 as they emerge, said Troedsson, and will make “significant additions” to the game.

“We launched and are planning to expand our Community Test Environment,” said the DICE studios general manager.

More players will be given access to the program, opening new DLC up to a wider spectrum of testers: “You can see the CTE as our labs environment in which we’ll continue testing out new additions, improvements etc. before we go live with them.”

The trend for new features like loadout presets and (console only) squad join “will continue”, and a “major update” to Battlefield 4’s netcode is on its way.

“The games we develop are services,” finished Troedsson. “We focus on taking care of the games post launch, delivering new content to those of you who want it and always working hard to increase quality of play. We also continue to work hard to keep investing in areas where you tell us you see opportunities for improvements and new features.

“Yes, we’re very excited to partner with Visceral on the development of Battlefield Hardline, but ongoing work to refine and enhance BF4 remains a top priority.”

DICE have been working with Visceral on Hardline for “several years”, apparently. Is any excitement you feel for it at the expense of Battlefield 4?