Battlefield 5 multiplayer producer David Sirland leaves DICE after 11 years

David Sirland collage — What is the future for Battlefield? (pic: Reddit)

‘I remember fondly all the fun and awesome ideas we got to put forward and in players hands, and co-experience with the players starting with the Battlefield 4 Premium and the first incarnation of the CTE’, he wrote in a post on Reddit.

He spoke of his pride on improving the franchises’ netcode and how much he enjoyed working with the teams in Sweden and the US. However, he gave little clue as to what he will do now.

Whatever his next move is, it won’t see him remain in Sweden, as he talked about selling his apartment in Stockholm, but the implication is that he will stay in the game business, just not at DICE.

‘So, I am moving on – but, I am not going anywhere. I will very much be utilising the same channels, same transparent development and communication in my new gig as soon as possible. I can’t tell you any details yet, but rest assured you won’t miss when I can.’

Sirland’s exit comes at a difficult time for Battlefield, with the fifth entry in the series being one of the worst performing in terms of critical and commercial reception.

It has improved in recent months though, as we acknowledged in our re-review in November, and updates are still going on, including the recent release of Chapter 6 expansion Into the Jungle, which adds the new Solomon Island map and bazooka.

What the future for the franchise is though remains unclear, with publisher EA implying last year that Battlefield 6 could be out in 2021.

Whether that’ll be the much-rumoured Bad Company 3 is impossible to know at the moment, but it’s clear a considerable overhaul is needed in terms of marketing, if nothing else.