Publisher Electronic Arts and developer DICE on Friday revealed the first trailer for Battlefield 1—the next game in the long-running Battlefield franchise—and it appears to take place during World War I.
The first World War featured air combat as a major component of hostilities for the first time in history, introduced submarine warfare and tanks, and took place on several continents, so there’s certainly room for DICE to present a variety of theaters and scenarios for Battlefield fans while sticking with Battlefield’s combined-arms theme.
It was probably inevitable that one of the two military first-person shooter franchises would eventually have to go backward in time to find a new setting. Call of Duty and Battlefield collectively drained the World War II pool years ago and then moved into modern day-type scenarios.
The only choices were to repeat old territory, go forward in time, or go backward. Call of Duty went for drone armies, cyborgs, and now outer space. EA and DICE decided to juke Battlefield in the other direction.
The stage is now set for a very odd pair of releases in the next round of the fight between Call of Duty and Battlefield for the hearts of military shooter fans.
Battlefield 1 will be released Oct. 21 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.