The next Battlefield doesn't have an official name, date, or even a proper trailer yet, but EA wants folks to play it and start giving feedback.
The series' new playtesting initiative is called Battlefield Labs, and its first participants will play a pre-alpha version of the next Battlefield in the coming weeks and months—signups are live now.
The Battlefield Labs reveal video ends with a nice surprise: 10 seconds of pre-alpha gameplay for the next Battlefield. This is a look at what Labs participants will be playing, a build that EA described to PC Gamer as a test of «the core pillars of Battlefield: core combat, destruction, vehicles, weapons» in familiar modes like Breakthrough and Rush, as well as «new concepts.» We can only glean so much from 10 seconds of soldiers running down a city street, but it sure looks a lot like Battlefield 3—dusty maps, modern soldier garb, and not a single specialist in sight.
The video is consistent with Battlefield boss Vince Zampella's recent proclamation that the next Battlefield would emulate Battelfields 3 and 4 as the "pinnacle of the series." That destruction looks pretty nice too.
There's a physical, crumbly quality to the RPG explosion that would represent a step up for DICE if it ends up looking that good.