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[Nirolak]

So on their fiscal call, EA mentioned that "changes" are coming to the Battlefield/Battlefront DLC model that will make (para) "DLC drops" less relevant, and instead focus on making constant constant updates to their game.

They're also very clear that they will have lots of DLC available for the entire community instead of just "DLC owners", even for Battlefield 1.

They also mentioned a move toward "event driven" DLC and live services instead of their current model.

In case none of the above made sense, they're most likely moving both products to a Rainbow Six Siege/Overwatch style update model instead of a traditional season pass model.

Battlefield 1 already sold a bunch of people a season pass, so they can't give everything to everyone with that game, but they want to halfway transition with that game too by giving out a bunch of content to everyone on top of the season pass.

Edit:

The Q&A segment isn't up yet (where these statements were made), but here's what they said about Battlefield 1 in the prepared remarks:

This will be a year of pioneering and creativity across many of EA's top franchises. Every
Battlefield 1 player will have more ways to play throughout the year, with continual game
updates, new maps, and three more expansion packs adding new armies, regions and
battlegrounds available to the whole community. We're just getting started with our live service
plans for this massive game, and later this year, we'll introduce new ways for players to get an
even bigger Battlefield 1 experience.

http://files.shareholder.com/downlo...BE-4CF06FBFACD6/Q4_FY17_Prepared_Comments.pdf

Edit 2:

Full comments:

Drew Crum - Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.

Okay. Thanks. Good afternoon, everyone. So I wonder if you guys could comment on your experience with Battlefield 1 DLC. What the conversion rate was in the March quarter and what your expectations are for fiscal 2018? I believe you guys had four maps launching this fiscal period. And then second question is more a clarification. Your commentary on full-game downloads being 9% last year, but moving back to 5%, is that a number for the company or something you expect the industry to trend at? And if it's not for you, where would you expect it to be given the Star Wars versus Battlefield dynamic? Thanks.

Blake J. Jorgensen - Electronic Arts, Inc.

Yeah. So thanks, Drew. The first question on Battlefield 1. We're not going to disclose attach rates because they're becoming less and less meaningful, particularly in a world of live services. And you'll see some changes to our approach, particularly with Battlefield and Battlefront over time that makes those DLC less important because it's ongoing content that's being delivered. I will say, you'll also see a lot of content delivered to the broad community for Battlefield, not just for the DLC owners going forward, which I think will continue to make those numbers a little less meaningful.

We're very pleased with the engagement levels on Battlefield, as well as the ongoing sales of Battlefield 1, and we think that will continue on. And I guess what I would say is, based on having seen some of the DLCs, I would never refer to them as a map. We've got a lot of exciting stuff coming and a lot of interesting things about World War I that have yet to be even seen.

Andrew Uerkwitz - Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (Broker)

Yeah. Hey. Thanks for taking my question. I've just got two quick ones. Around Battlefield 1, it seems like the excitement around the game is a little bit better than you expected. Has that changed your view on the intensity or the strategy around extra content for this fiscal year? And then, could we see more in the following fiscal year to support Battlefield 1?

Blake J. Jorgensen - Electronic Arts, Inc.

I would say it hasn't really changed our overall approach for this fiscal year. You may see some things you didn't actually anticipate as it evolves, but the general strategy is still based around quarterly or monthly DLCs that we put out. I do think you'll start to see that evolve next year as we get into more competitive gaming and it will clearly evolve, as Andrew mentioned, around Battlefront II property that we start to evolve the services associated with DLC to make them more live service, event-driven style gameplay versus purely an additional piece of content.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/40...-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single

 

[The Flash]

1 "release the maps for free but charge for cosmetic junk" model please.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

Hope Activision follows with Call of Duty and moves away from splitting up the community with paid DLC maps.

They finally opened their eyes and saw that a game like Overwatch has over 30 million players now while BF1 is pretty much dead.

 

[KZXcellent]

I'll take that. Anything's better than 50$ season passes. oof

 

[TVexperto]

Any link or pdf to the fiscal call ?

Also I hope they remove crap like needing "200 microtransaction" points to buy / upgrade weapons in battlefield 1

 

[Nirolak]

So I should probably note that Rainbow Six still has a season pass, but it works in a different way.

Any link or pdf to the fiscal call ?

Also I hope they remove crap like needing "200 microtransaction" points to buy / upgrade weapons in battlefield 1

http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/ewpjeimk

 

[sn00zer]

I like that the industry and consumers have come to an agreement that you can nickel and dime all you want as long as it's cosmetic

 

[TimeEffect]

Please make maps free pleaseeee

Ill repurchase the game if I dont have to worry about keeping up with dlc every few months

 

[Falchion]

Thank god!

 

[DeaDPo0L84]

Battlefield 1 might be my second favorite BF game I'm not dropping $50 for a map here and there. They need to make maps free, period. It would give the game much longer legs and give it a fighting chance this fall when all the heavy hitting FPS games release. If maps are still behind a pay wall come fall I see a huge chunk of the community leaving to play the new shiny game out at that time.

 

[Im_So_Pringles]

Free maps/Paid cosmetics please! Even if it means loot boxes! I just don't want a fractured player base anymore!

 

[lastplayed]

Wallets have spoken.

 

[BigTnaples]

Nice.


Any word from this if the Titanfall 2 DLC model is helping keep it afloat? Or if word of mouth has had any positive effect on sales?


Because the game ludicrously great.

 

[Ennosuke]

This model was like a gamechanger for me, in a negative sense. I bought those DLCs, but the community got destroyed because of the separation and it was no fun playing those maps. New maps are essential to a MP title, but I will not support this non sense anymore. So yeah, good idea to change the model.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

They also mentioned a move toward "event driven" DLC and live services instead of their current model.

In case none of the above made sense, they're most likely moving both products to a Rainbow Six Siege/Overwatch style update model instead of a traditional season pass model.

So I should probably note that Rainbow Six still has a season pass, but it works in a different way.

"Event driven" would definitely be more Overwatch-style. I'm not aware of "events" per se in Rainbow Six: Siege. And really, Overwatch has the better system anyway (not that R6's is bad), only locking cosmetics behind loot boxes.

 

[frontovik]

Unfortunate that they had to butcher Battlefield 1 in order for them to see sense.

 

[RedAssedApe]

sounds like potentially good news? stop splitting up the userbase with map packs

 

[SargerusBR]

All this sounds a lot like Overwatch's system.

 

[TimeEffect]

The rainbow six model works

Time restricted new gameplay content while maps for free is the best way to gain fan support

Charge for weapons, I dont care. But keep maps free so that people can buy the game now without waiting for a used copy or a big sale

Because nobody wants to buy the base game and be forced to sit out while their friends play dlc

And this is also a great way to combat COD.

people will pay for early accesa to new weapons, maps, cosmetics but everybody should have access in the end

 

[ByWatterson]

Nice.


Any word from this if the Titanfall 2 DLC model is helping keep it afloat? Or if word of mouth has had any positive effect on sales?


Because the game ludicrously great.

Also highly interested to know this. I'd have a hard time believing EA's switch to this format with DICE games is unrelated to their (?) experience with Titanfall 2.

Which also brings up whose idea it was to fuel Titanfall 2 with free updates and limited microtransactions. Hope it's working!

 

[Nirolak]

"Event driven" would definitely be more Overwatch-style. I'm not aware of "events" per se in Rainbow Six: Siege. And really, Overwatch has the better system anyway (not that R6's is bad), only locking cosmetics behind loot boxes.

They might not mean event in the most literal sense, though I guess they're running "Battlefests" in Battlefield, so they very well might be.

 

[firehawk12]

Games as service works, since it creates infinite revenue streams and allows everyone to be constantly engaged. It's silly that DICE didn't learn that from Bioware's moderate success with Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, if not all the other games that have come out since then.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Battlefield 1 might be my second favorite BF game I'm not dropping $50 for a map here and there. They need to make maps free, period. It would give the game much longer legs and give it a fighting chance this fall when all the heavy hitting FPS games release. If maps are still behind a pay wall come fall I see a huge chunk of the community leaving to play the new shiny game out at that time.

They will be, but the price will surely be reduced, and it's likely EA will release a Premium Edition of BF1 that includes the pass for $60.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

All this sounds a lot like Overwatch's system.

Which is the perfect system.

Microtransaction the fuck out of the cosmetic stuff and give us the DLC maps, heroes etc. all for free.

 

[Nirolak]

I added a bit more to the OP about Battlefield 1 in particular. It will be a few hours before the Q&A segment is transcribed, where the comments I posted about were made.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

They might not mean event in the most literal sense, though I guess they're running "Battlefests" in Battlefield, so they very well might be.

Sure, I guess we don't know what they have in mind, but the first thing I think of when it comes to "event-driven" games is Overwatch. Blizzard does a great job renewing interest in the game simply by having an event with new cosmetics every few months. It gives players a reason to engage with the game and also to spend money on microtransactions during the limited-time window. It's a pretty smart strategy that EA would be wise to latch onto, and it would fit well with the Star Wars bevy of characters, alien races, and costumes to draw from.

 

[The Salt Life]

Battlefield did that with bf4 I believe. They had dlc but they also had free dlc

 

[SargerusBR]

Which is the perfect system.

Microtransaction the fuck out of the cosmetic stuff and give us the DLC maps, heroes etc. all for free.

I agree but this also means less incentive to create new maps considering that EA will only actively support this game until the next Battlefield/Battlefront releases. But that's only a big problem if the base game doesn't come with a good number of maps.

 

[Nirolak]

Sure, I guess we don't know what they have in mind, but the first thing I think of when it comes to "event-driven" games is Overwatch. Blizzard does a great job renewing interest in the game simply by having an event with new cosmetics every few months. It gives players a reason to engage with the game and also to spend money on microtransactions during the limited-time window. It's a pretty smart strategy that EA would be wise to latch onto, and it would fit well with the Star Wars bevy of characters, alien races, and costumes to draw from.

Yes, certainly.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

I guess we can all thank papa jeff for opening other small minded big companies eyes.

 

[jdstorm]

All this sounds a lot like Overwatch's system.

Aka Splatoon's system

 

[Lingitiz]

I agree but this also means less incentive to create new maps considering that EA will only actively support this game until the next Battlefield/Battlefront releases. But that's only a big problem if the base game doesn't come with a good number of maps.

Would rather have 1 map that becomes part of the rotation forever for everyone, than many new maps that I never get to play because a. few have them, and b. those that do are the most hardcore players in stacked parties that wreck you.

People look at the old model on paper and say, "wow I was getting so many maps and now I'm not getting that many!" The problem is that in practice it fucks up most game ecosystems big time and squeezes out anyone but the most dedicated.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Aka Splatoon's system

Except there was no monetization system for Splatoon, which is a huge difference. There were no paid loot boxes and no limited-time cosmetics.

 

[TimeEffect]

Aka Splatoon's system

Rainbow 6 too. Which is ironic since they got shit on for their model


Every season: new map, 2 new ops which can be bought with in game currency or purchases or given for season pass holders

Everything else is premium or free cosmetics


Its an excellent model because the hype and buzz explodes during this time. The subreddit view count jumps super high


And for those saying "fewer maps", Im thinking theyll just stuff them into a second year

 

[Renekton]

I guess we can all thank papa jeff for opening other small minded big companies eyes.

http://media1.gameinformer.com/file...es/imagefeed/screenshots/kaplan/kaplan610.jpg

I don't think Overwatch pioneered this idea.

Path of Exile came out circa Diablo 3 and used cosmetic MT to support future content.

 

[BigTnaples]

I guess we can all thank papa jeff for opening other small minded big companies eyes.

Eh. If anything thank Mass Effect 3 and Titanfall 2.

 

[Kalentan]

Nice.


Any word from this if the Titanfall 2 DLC model is helping keep it afloat? Or if word of mouth has had any positive effect on sales?


Because the game ludicrously great.

Can't imagine. I've been getting back into TF2 lately and the highest I've seen it on PS4 is around 8k.

Which is really sad for a AAA shooter.

That was after the latest update/release.

 

[RoboPlato]

I would love it if Battlefield moved toward a different model. Premium was a good value in the age of season passes but now it's definitely a less exciting prospect.

 

[Skyzard]

No more paid maps, come on.

Long overdue. Playerbase/excitement for the game etc

Change that please.

 

[Psychoward]

Eh. If anything thank Mass Effect 3 and Titanfall 2.

I get Mass Effect 3 but Titanfall 2? It came out after Overwatch and has some cosmetics locked behind a complete paywall with no way to get them without paying.

 

[HariKari]

I get Mass Effect 3 but Titanfall 2? It came out after Overwatch and has some cosmetics locked behind a complete paywall with no way to get them without paying.

It was a major shooter title coming out around the same time that rejected the paid DLC model. It made BF1 look (rightfully) outdated in that sense.

 

[Hidden One]

Hopefully the next Battlefield is Bad Company 3 and they have free maps for everyone and keep the DLC cosmetics only like BC2.

 

[Gxgear]

All they're doing with every new map is further fragment their player base, it's just downright stupid in the wake of Overwatch proving microtransactions has a place in triple-A.

 

[SargerusBR]

Unconfirmed but apparently they said during the conference that BF2 will have 3x more content than the previous battlefront.
https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/862051651636670468

 

[VariantX]

Battlefield did that with bf4 I believe. They had dlc but they also had free dlc

I feel like that was more to save the brand than changing a business model. The game launched way before it should have in order to be ready for holiday sales, and it was one of the most buggy, crash-prone pieces of software I ever bought on console. CTE exists because of how busted BF4 was and the free maps were more of an apology and tool to get the community on board by allowing them to playtest super early stuff.

 

[Felix Lighter]

That's what I was expecting when they started experimenting with ways to fix the split playerbase issue with the season pass and their talk of similar things for Battlefroint 2. It's the model for future MP games across pretty much all genres. It's what players are coming to expect.

 

[KillLaCam]

Good. I would have came back to BF1 to see if anything new was good but everything is locked behind premium. Im not gonna buy dlc to see if the game has become any better.


Make free maps and modes and ill buy all of the random cosmetics.

 

[otapnam]

It's taking too long to release the map packs too. I stopped playing bf1 awhile ago because it just got boring. I'm sure alot of others felt the same and it's hard to get us back

 

[Nirolak]

It's taking too long to release the map packs too. I stopped playing bf1 awhile ago because it just got boring. I'm sure alot of others felt the same and it's hard to get us back

This is why they're changing the format going forward. It's way less attractive to lose players and have to regain them instead of just always giving them content.

 

[sleepnaught]

Do something about the bleeding PC playerbase and the rampant cheating. Not to mention the garbage quick match which never works.