Electronic Arts and DICE announced this afternoon that the fifth and final slice of downloadable content for Battlefield 3, entitled End Game, will be released throughout this month on all available platforms.

The content will be available in a staggered release fashion, firstly for premium members and lastly for regular, non-subscription-paying players. The release schedule is as follows:

• PS3 Premium members: March 5^th
• X360 and PC Premium members: March 12^th
• PS3 players: March 19^th
• X360 and PC players: March 26th

The content itself adds a number of new maps and features, including four new maps, two classic modes, and new lightweight AA vehicles like two-person dirt bikes. We’ve received no word yet on when DICE plans to remove the sniper class altogether (because they’re annoying as all heck), but we’ll keep you posted.

But at least now I can look forward to getting run over by dirt bikes — a far more comical approach to death than getting sniped, I suppose.

Image Gallery

The fifth and final DLC for Battlefield 3, entitled End Game, will bring back the old-school ‘Air Superiority’ mode that was made popular in the downloadable-only title, Battlefield 1943. This has not been officially announced, but was found out by the sneaky sneaks at NeoGAF when they noticed the content’s description on the Battlelog website.

In Air Superiority mode, teams are challenged to take each other down in aerial dogfights. Yeah, that’s pretty much the gist of it. You could just go play the fantastically-fun Blazing Angels II: Secret Missions over World War II, but either way is fine.

In addition to this mode, End Game will bring Capture the Flag back to Battlefield 3, a mode that previously frequented the multiplayer hoppers of Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, not to mention every first-person shooter ever. End Game also includes four new maps for multiplayer, as well as more vehicles in the form of dirt bikes, anti-air machines and dropships.

The DLC will be downloadable in March across all platforms, but will be available two weeks in advance for all Battlefield Premium members… of which there are many.

[Source: Battlelog via Polygon & NeoGAF]

The next DLC expansion for EA’s Battlefield 3 got a release date today, launching on November 27 for PlayStation 3 Premium members, with releases shortly thereafter for everyone else. What will you get in the new DLC?

Four new maps, three new vehicles, as well as a new Scavenger game mode, described thusly: “an objective based Conquest mode where lost soldiers armed only with a pistol must search the environment to find more powerful weapons and increasing their chance for survival.”

Is that all? Hell no. You’ll also have the opportunity to fire arrows with a crossbow weapon, ten new assignments, ten new dogtags, and five new cheevos/trophies. That’s pretty good—all for $14.99.

Be sure to check the screens in the slideshow above. Man-shooting just got a little more man-shootier.

This morning, Electronic Arts and DICE published a press release to officially announce the release schedule for the latest expansion to Battlefield 3, “Armored Kill” (whereas prior to this, the full schedule was only implied and hinted at). Battlefield Premium members who game on the PS3 will be able to download the new content first, starting, well, uh, today.

After that, Xbox and PC gaming Premium members will get it on September 11. For the non-members out there, the expansion will first be available on the PlayStation 3 on September 18, with Xbox 360 and PC gamers having access on September 25. Phew!

The Armored Kill pack will offer up four new multiplayer maps, “including the biggest map in Battlefield history,” six additional vehicles, more than 20 unlocakables, and the “Tank Superiority” mode, described thusly:

“…two opposing tank platoons must battle it out for control of a single location on the map until one team has fully bled their opponent’s respawn tickets dry.”

Oh, so, just like real war, then.

The press release also mentions that getting in on the Battlefield Premium goodness costs $49.99 (or 4000 Microsoft Moon Money Points), and that it gives gamers not only early access to the content, but all of the DLC for Battlefield 3, each of which costs $14.99 separately. So if you’re serious about getting all the expansions, it doesn’t make much sense NOT to go Premium.

[emed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWxgCVJ11o[/embed]

David Goldfarb, former lead designer on Battlefield 3 over at DICE/EA, has now set up shop over at the also Sweden-based development studio Starbreeze. Starbreeze is known for a number of titles, the most recent ones including Syndicate and the two Chronicles of Riddick games.

Goldfarb will fill the position of game director, working directly with the Starbreeze’s current creative director Ulf Andersson on the development of Payday 2 (sequel to Payday: The Heist) and their next unannounced project.

“I’ve worked on these huge games, and that was great, but I really wanted to work on smaller, tighter, and more intimate projects that are more gameplay driven, and I saw the opportunity to do that here,” Goldfarb mentioned to Develop Online.

“I talked to a lot of places but I felt the best fit for me was Starbreeze and Overkill because they have a really interesting history and a lot of games I really like.”

“I’ve recruited and fired a lot of game designers in my day, and I’ve never met anybody who’s at the skill level that David,” said Andersson regarding Goldfarb’s recent hiring.

“I’m really looking forward to this to see if we can make something really cool together.”

[via Develop Online]

Yesterday, EA released some brand new screenshots of their latest expansion to Battlefield 3, “Armored Kill,” which is set to be released in September. According to the company’s press release, the expansion will feature five new driveable vehicles, including mobile artillery, tanks, and ATVs. A new mode will be introduced in the DLC as well: “Tank Superiority,” which is what you see happening in the slideshow above.

Frankly, I would’ve called it “Tanks for the Memories,” or “Tanks a Lot,” or “Tanks but No Tanks,” or something like that—but I’m an idiot, and that’s why I don’t work at EA.

Tank-related puns…GO.

After receiving word yesterday (through EA’s financial call) that Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic would be adopting a free-to-play model this November, and that it had officially fallen below the one million subscriber mark, it comes as a weird a surprise that another EA-supported service is currently soaring in popularity.

Battlefield 3: Premium had an incredibly successful launch and has since continued to succeed, boasting over 1.3 million subscribers to date. This can also be attributed to EA’s recent announcement of reaching 21 million members on its Origin digital distribution system.

So there you have it – there are officially more people continuously playing/paying for Battlefield 3 than there are customers for THE definitive Star Wars MMO.

The tables, they have turned.

[via EA]

The details regarding the latest forthcoming entry into the DLC lineup for EA’s Battlefield 3, “Aftermath,” have been released by the publisher today. While no release date has been offered just yet (though it stands to reason that we’ll get access before the holidays), we do know that players will get “urban warfare” with four new maps set in Tehran after an earthquake. In addition, there will be new military and civilian vehicles, a new game mode, and new assignments, achievements, and dog tags.

Here’s the official description of what you’ll have to look forward to:

“With operational capacity severely compromised the opposing forces must adapt and engage in vertical and horizontal urban combat amongst the dust and rubble with cracks and fissures in the terrain providing unexpected cover and paths to objectives. Additional support comes in the form of heavily modified troop transports and civilian vehicles specially adapted to deliver deadly force to the enemy.”

As you can see by the concept art above, things look pretty messy for the Battlefield bunch this time around. But will they be able to hold out long enough until Sgt. Bazooka Battlefield can be airlifted in from Battlefield HQ to help stop Cobra Commander?

I think I should also point out here that I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.

EA via Joystiq

How do you like your warfare? Armored? How about ALL-OUT? Well, if you do, you’re in luck, because EA and DICE have released the new trailer for Battlefield 3’s latest DLC, “Armored Kill.”

What’s in it? Shooting from planes, shooting from tanks, and above all, SHOOTING. Do you like shooting? YOU’RE IN LUCK. There’s many shoots. Shots, even. Whoa! Guns and explosions!

All joking aside, this trailer is pretty bad-ass. The DLC is set to drop in September, and will sport five new vehicles and assignments, as well as four new maps. What do you think? Did you poop your pants yet?

Though news broke recently that pre-orders for Medal of Honor: Warfighter’s limited edition would grant access to the Battlefield 4 beta next year, it’s not the only path to beta access.

Community Manager of Battlefield 3 Ian Tornay clarified the issue on Reddit, explaining that pre-ordering MOH: WF isn’t the only way to earn time with the BF4 beta when it launches in fall 2013:

“There will be other ways to get into the beta aside from Medal of Honor: Warfighter. At this time, however, it is the only way to guarantee entry.”

Tornay was also quick to address community concerns regarding the oddly early announcement of Battlefield 4’s development:

“I truly believe that we’re in one of the best positions to be creating our next title – Frostbite 2 has matured, we’ve been gathering fan feedback like crazy, Battlefield 3 continues to expand with features which we can learn from, and we’ve got more data about how people play than ever.

There are several teams at DICE. Starting work on Battlefield 4 does not mean that we will be abandoning Battlefield 3 or working any less hard to bring you the best expansions we can.

DICE and EA are dedicated to continuing our support for Battlefield 3. Just as we’ve continued to support and maintain Bad Company 2, we intend to continue providing the best Battlefield 3 experience we can well into the future and past the release of End Game and Battlefield 4.”

Tornay also pointed out some of the features there is a “serious desire for”—features they hope to include going forward:

• A better VOIP solution
• Battle Recorder
• Spectator Mode
• More robust eSports support

For more details regarding this discussion, hit up the Reddit thread.

Battlefield 4 has been semi-officially announced as of this morning by none other than its publisher Electronic Arts, and will (surprisingly enough), host its official multiplayer beta in Fall 2013. The game is being developed by DICE.

EA confirmed early today that those mentions of a Battlefield 4 beta attached to pre-orders of Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited Edition are, in fact, true – and that all players who pre-order the game before its release on October 23 will receive exclusive access to the beta.

“Though Battlefield and Medal of Honor Warfighter each offer players a completely unique experience, they are united by their underlying technology base – Frostbite. These are two of the hottest shooters, coming together to deliver a one-two punch of action, intensity and shooter entertainment,” mentioned Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels.

Given that Battlefield 3 still has plenty of downloadable content coming down the pipeline, you certainly shouldn’t feel weird for thinking that this is (perhaps) a bit too early to be expecting (and announcing, for that matter) Battlefield 4. After all, Battlefield 3 came out nine months ago.

With that said, what are your thoughts? Are you ready for another Battlefield already?

Origin, the digital game delivery service from EA, dug itself into a little hole recently, when it accidentally semi-uncovered Battlefield 4 courtesy of a banner advertisement for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, EA’s shooter to buy of 2012.

The advertisement up on Origin (displayed above) was designed to attract consumers into pre-ordering the next Medal of Honor, as the ad claims that doing so will grant exclusive access to the Battlefield 4 beta. EA has since removed the listing from public view, but the boys over at NeoGaf were thankfully quick to mash the screenshot button on their keyboards before the post was yanked.

Is this a confirmation that Battlefield 4 is being worked on? Not quite – DICE (developer of Battlefield 3) is still pumping out (and scheduling more) downloadable content for the current iteration across all available platforms.

If they are working on Battlefield 4 (or a new Bad Company perhaps) it’s a long ways out — so keep on enjoying BF3 for the time being you impatient little sillies.

Set to bring “all-out vehicle warfare” to some of Battlefield 3’s “huge maps” is the newest expansion for the game from DICE and EA.

Electronic Arts announced that the expansion will be available in September, and is the second of three total expansions announced this year.

With Close Quarters right around the corner in June and ‘Battlefield 3 Premium’ likely to be detailed on Monday (the first day of E3), any more Battlefield-related announcements might start blowing the minds of young video gaming children everywhere.

So no more talking about Battlefield – think of the children.

A post on MP1st has snooped out information regarding EA’s planned rival to the “Call of Duty Elite” subscription plan, apparently called “Battlefield Premium.” The UK and Danish sites for European retailer, CoolShop, lists the service for a planned release on June 29, with prices that translate to about $60, says the post.

The listing offers this information about the DLC that gamers can expect to receive when the subscription service launches this summer:

“BF3 Premium Service is 1 code in a box to give the consumers early access to the BF3 DLC expansion packs – Back to Karkand (already released), Close Quarters (releasing June), Armoured Kill (releasing Sept) and End Game (releasing December).”

In addition, the post offers rumored details for what the package will include:

• 20 Maps
• 20 New Weapons
• 10+ New Vehicles
• 4+ New Game Modes
• 30+ Assignments
• 20+ Dog Tags
• Also includes “Premium Benefits” which are made up of skins, camos and most importantly early access to all DLC.

The post also proposes that the as-yet unannounced fifth DLC pack is named “End Game,” and is set for a Spring 2013 launch.

[UPDATE]

But as reader Joh points out in the comments below, there’s a discrepancy between the rumored release date of Spring ’13, and the one from the BFP listing above. So which is it? Chances are, December ’12. It would make more sense for the retailer to know what’s up, I think. But at the same time, who knows? I sure don’t. I didn’t even catch this the first time around. What a jerk I am.

[ORIGINAL POST CONTINUES]

I’m sure we’ll hear all about what the service will or won’t have at E3 in June—so keep your eyes peeled, Battlefield 3 fans.

Via MP1st