Speaking at Electronic Arts’ annual Investors Day this week, EA Studio chief Patrick Soderlund revealed that the publishing giant initially rejected the ideal of a World War 1-based Battlefield title when it was pitched by developer DICE.
Soderlund admitted that the idea of trench warfare did not particularly excite him, although DICE persisted with their vision for the first-person shooter, which ultimately convinced the executive to give Battlefield 1 the green light.
"[World War 1] wasn’t the most obvious choice," commented Soderland. "If you look at what other partners in the industry are doing, they’re going into sci-fi; we’ve had a lot of success in the modern military space. But we felt like there was a need for a change.
"When the team presented the idea to me of World War 1, I absolutely rejected it," he continued. "I said World War 1, it’s trench warfare; it can’t be fun to play."
Battlefield 1 obviously is not just about trench warfare at all, and as such, Soderland is fully behind the World War 1 setting.
"We have to remember that so far, we have only shown one trailer," he added. "Yes, it’s gotten a lot of success, but what’s important is that we have to go back and make sure we deliver on the full promise of what Battlefield can be. And that we will do."
Battlefield 1 takes place across several fields of conflict during The Great War, and includes a wealth of combat opportunities, including traditional infantry combat, tanks, bi-planes, battleships and even horseback.
Check out the debut trailer for the game here.