Electronic Arts has confirmed that Battlefield 5 will have an open beta, and that it will take place sometime in the first part of September. A specific date hasn't been revealed yet, but EA did discuss some of the things it will change based on what it learned from the recently-concluded closed alpha test.
EA acknowledged "some issues" with matchmaking during the testing period, although I think that's to be expected in an alpha—I'd be more surprised if everything worked like it was supposed to. Nonetheless, it promised improved matchmaking and stability for the future, and also touched on specific elements it's working on, such as the queue and chat systems.
More interesting things are to be found on the gameplay side of the report. The revive system will be sped up and tuned to "feel less clunky," and ammo inventories for some weapons will be adjusted. The V1 Rocket and Churchill Crocodile Tank reinforcements will be tweaked (apparently the V1 was a little too powerful), as will "Time to Kill" [TTK], which EA said led to "polarizing feedback" from players in the alpha.
"It’s worth mentioning that TTK is not just determined by how powerful weapons are. For instance, it’s also related to how fast the game lets you react to being fired at," EA wrote. "We’re looking at how fast can you assess a threat and understand from where the fire is coming. Giving you good communication on enemy fire will let you fight back and survive longer. We’re also fine-tuning the amount of camera shake that occurs when you’re hit. If these adjustments aren’t enough, we’ll look at tweaking the damage of weapons."
The evolution of the game is interesting, but of course the good stuff is at the end. "There will be several more tests of Battlefield 5—internal and external—before the October launch, and we will be using our learnings from the first Alpha to test further and fine-tune the experience," EA wrote. "There will be a new build of Battlefield 5 at Gamescom, too, and then there is the open beta in early September to look forward to. Thanks again for helping us make Battlefield 5 the best it can be."
Battlefield 5 is set to come out on October 11 for Origin Access subscribers, October 16 for owners of the Deluxe edition, and October 19 for everyone else.
