Even when stacked against the large and looming shadow of Activision’s Call of Duty, Electronic Arts and developer DICE always positioned Battlefield as the cream of the crop for first-person military shooters. Few would disagree the franchise’s penchant for hosting massive battles and dropping players into hectic vehicle-involved encounters set a precedent hardly rivaled. However, Battlefield 5 tested such thinking, launching in November 2018 to reviews that labeled it messy, unpolished, and technically unsound. The World War 2-set experience found better footing years later, but by that time, series faithful had cast their gaze toward the next major outing—Battlefield 2042.