Update, May 3: As EA start winding down support for Battlefield 1, the game’s first expansion They Shall Not Pass is now free for everyone who owns the game – although only for the next two weeks.
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You can pick up the expansion for free on Origin between now and May 14, and if you do, you’ll get to keep it after that time. EA previously announced (see original story, below) that they would be making more maps from They Shall Not Pass available to all Battlefield 1 players, but evidently they’ve just decided to release the whole thing in its entirety.
The release of the expansion is the last gasp of Battlefield 1 as EA prepares to end support for the game, but is also part of the road to Battlefield V – which the publishers will almost certainly be announcing at E3 in June, and is rumoured to havea battle royale mode.
Original story, April 24:EA and DICE have confirmed in a blog post that they will cease monthly updates for Battlefield 1 in June 2018. While DICE make clear they will update the game up until then – including adding a new mode called Shock Operations – support for the game will finally cease 20 months after its launch in October 2016.
The new mode, Shock Operations, is similar to the existing Operations in that it features up to 40 players fighting to control sectors. The difference is that battles will be confined to a single map, and so will be much more fast-paced. It will be available on five maps: Giant’s Shadow, Prise de Tahure, Lupkow Pass, Zeebrugge, and River Somme. Even though most of these are DLC maps, DICE says players of Shock Operations will still be able to access them.
Relatedly, DICE will also start making more maps from the They Shall Not Pass DLC expansion available to all standard owners of Battlefield 1, with the Rupture map available right now.
While it’s sad that support for Battlefield 1 is being wound down, it’s certainly had a good run. However it is curious that support is ceasing around the same time as E3 – with a new Battlefield game leaked so heavily that it’s practically certain, this is more evidence that we can expect a release come the holiday season.