Battlefield 6 might not cost $80 after all, suggests EA CEO Andrew Wilson

The Battlefield series isn't in a great place. The most recent entry, Battlefield 2042, was much maligned for forgoing a traditional campaign in favor of being a multiplayer-only live-service shooter, which failed to knock the likes of Fortnite, Call of Duty, and EA's other major live-service FPS, Apex Legends, off their respective perches. 2042 received a mixed reception from critics and a far worse response from players, who rate it at just 2.3/10, according to Metacritic. It's obvious, then, that EA is desperate for players to see Battlefield 6 as a return to form for the series, delivering those exciting gunfights and awe-inspiring set pieces fans are used to.

If Battlefield 6 truly wants to become one of the best FPS games, on a par with the likes of Titanfall 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it will need to get players back on board. While great gunfeel and an exciting campaign will go some way towards mending that goodwill, EA needs to get its marketing right first and foremost.

Seeing as we know so little about the game thus far, players' main concern is price. Leaks suggested that the game would retail at $79.99, $10 more than the generally accepted pricing for a triple-A game in 2025.

However, EA CEO Andrew Wilson reflected on pricing in an earnings call with investors yesterday, in which he discussed the company's Q1 performance and looked to the future. While there was a lot of money talk - as expected from a financial discussion - there was one quote that stood out.

"We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage," he told investors. It remains to be seen how much heavy lifting the words "at this stage" are doing, but it's a promising sign that EA won't follow the market trend of increasing its prices in the wake of economic troubles and spiralling development costs across the world. He continued to explain that there are "no dramatic changes planned yet."

It's worth noting, however, that CFO Stuart Canfield added that EA hasn't "factored in any different approach in pricing through the current fiscal year" at the present time. He reiterated Wilson's point that there were no large-scale changes planned and the company was focused on its live-service profits, but was perhaps more conservative with his words.

If you can't wait for the Battlefield 6 release date in October, take a look at our picks of the best war games to tide you over for the next three months. Alternatively, our list of the best multiplayer games to hop in with your friends is particularly good, if I do say so myself.

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