Break out the tissues. DICE has just announced the cancellation of two anticipated PC projects: Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Onslaught. The former is a complete game that launched on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in July 2009, while the latter is a new game mode for Bad Company 2 released as downloadable content for consoles in June 2010.
Both were supposed to be available on PC in the near future but DICE has decided to halt development on the projects to focus its energy on a completely new title. "There comes a time when we as a studio have to choose where to best put our efforts," explained general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson. "This is one of those cross roads where I need to make a hard decision."
Although the developer will continue supporting Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and previous games, much of DICE's manpower will be allocated to the creation of Battlefield 3. The upcoming installment is being developed with a new version of the Frostbite engine and will be unveiled at a press event before this year's Game Developers Conference (February 28 through March 4).
"Our goal is crystal clear: we're going to build the best Battlefield game ever, and we'll do whatever it takes to make this the biggest launch in DICE's history," Troedsson said. Little is known about Battlefield 3, but Frostbite 2.0 supposedly takes "full advantage" of DirectX 11 and 64-bit processors. Building hype, Troedsson told fans to keep their eyes peeled for some exciting news.
Update: Game Informer has revealed its March cover featuring none other than Battlefield 3.