By now, many of you have probably heard about the next title in the Battlefield series, Battlefield Hardline. The Visceral Studio team has done an amazing job of bringing in a completely new concept while staying true to the Battlefield core gameplay pillars. I’ve been working with Visceral GM Steve Papoutsis and his team for several years on the cops vs. criminals concept and we think you guys are going to love it! We’ve always dared to try new settings and experiences with Battlefield and seeing this new one take shape is a long lasting dream come true.

That said, I want to be sure you all understand that introducing Hardline in no way means we’re done working on Battlefield 4. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Visceral team is leading the development of Hardline, while the DICE team continues to drive BF4. We are committed to giving you the best BF4 experience possible.

Let me tell you about a few ways we’re going to continue to improve the BF4 experience.

Continued Support: There are dedicated BF4 teams in Stockholm, Uppsala and LA that will continue to address any issues that might occur. But more importantly will also look to make significant additions to the game. 

Netcode Patch: We are also working on a major update to the Battlefield 4 netcode.

Community Test Environment: We launched and are planning to expand our Community Test Environment. You can see the CTE as our labs environment in which we’ll continue testing out new additions, improvements etc. before we go live with them. We’re expanding the CTE program to give more and more players the chance to test new additions.

More Features: Other features rolled out recently such as Squad Join, Rent-A-Server and Loadout Presets, many which have been directly requested by you in the community. This trend will continue. 

The games we develop are services. We focus on taking care of the games post launch, delivering new content to those of you who want it and always working hard to increase quality of play. We also continue to work hard to keep investing in areas where you tell us you see opportunities for improvements and new features.  Yes, we’re very excited to partner with Visceral on the development of Battlefield Hardline, but ongoing work to refine and enhance BF4 remains a top priority.

Best regards,
Karl Magnus Troedsson, DICE VP & Group GM

Update: Congratulations to Fnatic who emerged victorious in Sunday’s thrilling final rounds!

The battle is on. This weekend, 8 teams with 40 elite Battlefield 4 players are competing for €30,000 in the ESL One Battlefield finals in Cologne. With the high stakes, elite players, and the fast-paced Domination game mode, the finals will bring hours of intense competitive gaming.

Watch the Live Stream Below

Watch live video from esltv_bf4 on www.twitch.tv

Saturday sees the group plays kicking off and the grand finale will start Sunday night around 12PM PST / 9PM CET. David Sirland, Battlefield 4 producer from DICE LA, is in Cologne doing interviews for the live stream. Get more info by hitting the link below.

Learn more at the ESL One Homepage

The upcoming Battlefield 4 expansion Dragon’s Teeth will bring the all-out war of Battlefield 4 into new exciting vistas, together with new game modes, weapons, and gadgets. Now, you can get a taste of the first gameplay footage from Dragon’s Teeth in our new Battlefield 4 Premium trailer. Look closely for another glimpse into the future…

Since the launch of Battlefield 4, our players have been pivotal in giving us valuable feedback. Today we’re launching the Community Test Environment in our continuous efforts to make the game even more enjoyable and engage with our fans in new ways.

Improve Battlefield 4 with Us
The Community Test Environment (CTE) will provide passionate fans the chance to evolve Battlefield 4 with us and become a part of the development process. We’ll be able to test new ideas and solutions to current issues before we roll them out to all Battlefield players.

Among the first things we will work on is the “Netcode,” which is what the player experiences with the game world including player-to-player interactions like damage registration. This involves tweaking to the “tickrate” servers and networking in general.

By launching this new program, not only will we be able to address player feedback at an early stage, but also increase the overall quality of the game. We are excited to explore the possibilities together with you.

How to Access the CTE
This community program will be available on PC only. However, the goal is for our learnings to benefit all platforms when possible. To access the CTE, you will need to be a Battlefield 4 Premium member. Players will have to download a separate game client, then connect to an infrastructure and Battlelog version solely set up for testing purposes.

• Visit http://cte.battlelog.com/bf4/communitytest/
• Read and accept the Terms of Service and Agreement
• Log into Origin with your existing account username and password (your account must have Premium activated in order to proceed)
• Start Origin and download the new Battlefield 4 CTE game client that now should be visible
• Install the Battlelog browser plugin
• Get familiar with the guidelines by visiting the Forums on http://cte.battlelog.com/bf4/forum/

Initially, only Battlefield 4 Premium members will be able to opt-in, and there will be a limit to how many can join. We do have plans to expand to a larger player base in the future after we test this new program. If you feel that you want to provide constructive feedback to make Battlefield 4 an even better game – then you’re more than welcome to apply to the CTE.

Connecting and playing with your friends has always been a central aspect of the Battlefield multiplayer experience. To help make this easier, we are now releasing Squad Join Beta for Battlefield 4. This is something we know our fans have been asking for – and something we wish we could have provided at launch – so we are now happy to present the first iteration of Squad Join.

Squad Up Before Battle

Squad Join Beta allows you to set up a squad for up to 5 people before joining a multiplayer server. This means that you and 4 of your friends can join a Battlefield 4 match as a squad, and deploy directly in the game together. Once in-game, you and your squad mates are guaranteed to stick together over rounds.

We would like to add that Squad Join Beta is the first iteration of the feature. We will continue to add features and tweaks based on your feedback and comments, and are aiming to release the next version of Squad Join when Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth arrives this summer. Also note that Squad Join Beta is available for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Before digging into the details, check out this Squad Join Beta tutorial video (note that this clip shows a work in progress).

How It’s Done

To join Battlefield 4 as part of a squad, simply choose “Squad Join Beta” in the game’s multiplayer menu. Here you will be able to see a list of active squads, or create your own. A list of the five slots will appear, with the squad leader indicated by a star. When you’re good to go, just initiate quickmatch to join a game, and you’ll be in-game with your squad mates, ready to bring your team to victory.

Also, if you’ve left your squad and want to re-join it, you can do so – if the squad has a free slot. Joining this way will enable you to both join the squad and the match at the same time.

Other Squad Join Features

As mentioned, this is the first iteration of Squad Join and other features for it are planned, with the first major update coming within the next months (a more exact date will be communicated later). In this multi-release process, we are working on features like managing party members, and making Squad Join available for all game modes.

Initially, Squad Join Beta will be available in the Battlefield 4 base game maps in the Conquest, Team Deathmatch, Obliteration, Rush, and Domination game modes. All the other Battlefield 4 maps and more game modes will be supported in later iterations of Squad Join.

Give us Your Feedback

Your comments and feedback are valuable to us. We’d really like to hear your input about Squad Join Beta and make you a part of improving this feature. Please leave your comments below. We hope you will enjoy trying out Squad Join Beta, and that it will make your time in Battlefield 4 even more enjoyable.