Electronic Arts, EA, has shut down three previously popular games, taking each offline. And in the case of each these games, this means large parts of each game, in fact, the majority of each game, is no longer playable. There are single-player elements to each, but this only a slither of the overall experience and far from the primary reason anyone was ever interested in any of the three games.
The oldest of these three games is Battlefield 3, which was released back in 2011 as direct sequel to 2005’s Battlefield 2. Developed by DICE, it released to an 89 on Metacritic when it was made available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
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Its own sequel, 2013’s Battlefield 4, is one of the other games shutting down today. Also developed by DICE, it released on the same platforms, plus PS4 and Xbox One, to Metacritic scores as high as 85.
It was then followed up by 2015’s Battlefield Hardline, which is the third and final game shutting down today. Released on the same platforms as Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline was notably not made by DICE but Visceral Games. And as evident by its 73 on Metacritic, it was a low point for the series, though not the lowest point. That would later come with Battlefield 2042.
With the servers going offline for these games and related DLC, various achievements and trophies will now be unattainable, making the 1000% or Platinum Trophy for each of these games impossible.
Of course, the servers could be turned back on in the future, but unless they are re-released via a remaster or a remake, the likelihood is these three Battlefield games are going dark forever.
As for why they are being turned off in the first place, it is for money reasons. It costs money to maintain these servers. And there aren’t enough players to justify this expense. Further, each also represents a security risk as long as they are live. And again, the player count does not justify this risk.
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