Electronic Art’s boss Andrew Wilson has admitted that the launch quality of Battlefield 4 was ‘unacceptable’.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Wilson referred to the backlash from Battlefield fans regarding numerous bugs and stability issues that plagued the launch of the fourth numbered title in the popular FPS series.
“For me, the situation we had was unacceptable. For the team it was unacceptable. We have worked tirelessly since then to make sure the gameplay experience got to where it absolutely should have been at launch and we’re focused on that and we continue to deliver value to that player base”.
EA plans to change its processes for testing its Battlefield games in a bid to prevent major launch issues in the future, though Wilson says it won’t stop its Swedish-based DICE studio from pushing boundaries.
“It would be disingenuous for me to sit here and say, ‘we will never have an issue again,’ because that would mean we were never going to push the boundaries again. And I don’t want to be that company,” he added.
“I want to be a company that pushes to lead and innovate and be creative. But you can start to do things that give you a better handle and a better view about what the potential challenges might be.”
The launch issues for Battlefield 4 caused national headlines after a class-action lawsuit was filed against EA in December. The next major Battlefield was recently revealed as Battlefield Hardline, which ditches the traditional war-based theme for a cop vs. robbers style shooter.