According to analysts from the Cowen group, pre-orders for Battlefield 5 are expected to be extremely low. There are fears that the online shooter Battlefield V might face a similar fate as Titanfall 2: Sandwiched between two major titles, Titanfall 2 was left out in 2016.
Pre-orders reportedly low: As explained by the analyst group Cowen according to the Wall Street Journal, current pre-orders for Battlefield 5 are not looking good. Exact numbers are not provided, but Cowen states that this could be related to the release date. However, these are not official figures from EA.
Battlefield 5 in a Release Sandwich? This echoes Titanfall 2
Battlefield V is caught in the middle of a packed release window:
- Call of Duty Black Ops 4 – October 12
- Battlefield V – October 19
- Red Dead Redemption 2 – October 26
The release date of Battlefield V is sandwiched between two highly anticipated games by fans: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on October 12 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26. There are fears that Battlefield 5 is facing a fate similar to that of Titanfall 2 from 2016.
What happened to Titanfall 2? The shooter Titanfall 2 was released on October 28, 2016. Electronic Arts hoped for sales in the range of 9 to 10 million copies in the first year. However, the company later had to admit that sales figures did not meet expectations.
Analysts stated that the reason for this was that Titanfall 2 was released between the shooter giants Battlefield 1 (October 21, 2016) and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (November 4, 2016). Even the developer later said: Titanfall 2 should have sold better, but there were likely too many high-profile titles in the same release window or too aggressive pricing strategies.
Is Battlefield 5 facing the Titanfall 2 fate? The Call of Duty series sells excellently each year, and many fans are eagerly waiting to get their hands on the new installment Black Ops 4. And Red Dead Redemption 2 is expected to hit like a bomb, considering how successful GTA 5 is and how many players are waiting for a new Rockstar game and another installment in the Red Dead series.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 aims to bring fresh wind into the genre with a focus on multiplayer and an interesting battle royale mode called “Blackout“.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a sort of special status since it is the first Rockstar game since GTA 5 from 2013.
In comparison, a new Battlefield seems like the fifth wheel on the wagon. Because it doesn’t appear to offer that much new content.
How is Battlefield 5 performing on Google Trends? Even if it gets a battle royale mode, interest in this title is reportedly the lowest among the three mentioned. This is also confirmed by global search interest on Google Trends:
Possible reasons for the reportedly weak pre-orders
What factors still play a role in the low pre-order numbers? There are more reasons why Battlefield 5 is currently not resonating well with players compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
- The previous trailers for the game did not convince. Even though the announcement trailer was indeed spectacular, EA did not achieve the kind of response with the “Reveal” of Battlefield 5 that Activision achieved with the announcement of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The Multiplayer trailer of Black Ops 4 still has more likes and significantly fewer dislikes on YouTube today. Battlefield 5, on the other hand, has even more dislikes than likes.
- There was quite a bit of criticism before the game’s release, especially regarding its setting. This is not 100 percent historically accurate. Female soldiers and hook hands, exaggerated action… everything feels more like an alternate reality and an over-the-top action movie. Many Battlefield veterans felt discouraged by this.
- The alpha revealed some things that players did not like very much. The shooter felt more like Battlefield 1 in a different scenario. Basic innovations were genuinely missed, balancing was off, and some new features like reloading ammunition were deemed pointless by some players.
What do you think? Does Battlefield V really face the fate of Titanfall 2 or is Battlefield too big and an established brand for that?
