Eagle-eyed gamers have spotted a potential Easter egg in Battlefield 3. The well-hidden image suggests that developer DICE could be preparing to follow up its futuristic shooter Battlefield 2142 with a Battlefield 2143 experience.
DICE previously teased the release of the original Battlefield 2142 back in 2006, with a car number plate that appeared in the Battlefield 2: Armored Fury expansion. Now the number 2143 has been spotted tucked away on a crate on the Wake Island map, part of the Battlefield 3 Back To Karkand expansion pack.
While a hidden number is not much to go on, DICE has a track record of re-imagining its previous titles. Battlefield 1943 was a download-only follow up to Battlefield 1942, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 received a Vietnam expansion pack, based on the original Battlefield Vietnam game.
While Battlefield 2143 could work as a full retail release, it seems more logical that it would be released as a downloadable expansion pack. Battlefield 3 recently received its first expansion, with Back To Karkand – a re-imagining of four classic Battlefield 2 maps, plus unique weapons and vehicles. Speaking recently on a US Playstation Blog podcast, DICE community manager Ian Tornay said that fully-fledged expansions such as this were the path that DICE will continue to take with Battlefield 3. The aim being to deliver a full and completely different gaming experience for far less than the price of a retail game.
It is no secret that Back to Karkand is just the first wave of DLC for Battlefield 3, with one expansion slot left unannounced on the storefront. Back to Karkand was free to anyone purchasing the limited edition of the game, but costs $15 for anyone with a standard edition. Future expansions also priced along the same lines should help prolong the life of the EA-published shooter, and may help it more aggressively compete with Activision’s Call of Duty series.