Battlefield 3 has received a volume of improvements in the past couple months, but there is plenty more where that came from if a new source is accurate.
A plethora of news has been uncovered from a fact sheet, and it's regarding Battlefield 3's future plans. No, not to go on vacation to Cancun, but instead to add as much as possible to the game before the beginning of Fall. The sheet contains a few very important dates which put a stamp on DICE's current plans to keep Battlefield 3 as popular as possible. The dates include:
Double XP weekend (May 12 to May 14, 2012)
From May 12th – May 14th all experience will be doubled.Battlefield Premium (June 4, 2012)
"Battlefield™ Premium will land you a number of content drops with unique in-game items not available anywhere else. First out is the one-of-a-kind Premium knife and black dog tag, plus a set of soldier camos, weapon camos, dog tags and Assignments that will make sure you stand out and get more personalization options."Close Quarters (June 12, 2012)
This will be the second major DLC which brings weapons and maps focused on close-range battles.Guide (June ??, 2012)
Official strategy guide for Battlefield 3.Bonus Content (August ??, 2012)
No details.
The two big key items are Battlefield Premium and the bonus content. EA has been playing around with the idea of subscription-based programs for over a year now, and since Activision hit the lottery with Call of Duty Elite it's only proper for EA to release something similar. The big question will be how much it costs. If it has a significant price-tag then it'll be a tough sell since Battlefield 3 doesn't have the luxury of an audience the size of a small country. However, if it pays for the cost of upcoming DLC then the existing playerbase of Battlefield 3 shouldn't have a problem covering the price of admission.
As far as the bonus content goes, it isn't identified as Armored Kill—the DLC package coming after Close Quarters—so I suspect that it'll be a small package consisting of Battlefield Premium contents for a price that isn't competitive with the subscription.
