DICE Finally Announces Three New Expansion Packs For Battlefield 3

EA and DICE unveil multiple expansion packs for Battlefield 3 that will release between June and winter.

Danger Close was there to unveil Medal of Honor: Warfighter and a pile of new details and we suspected DICE would be sharing news regarding Battlefield 3 DLC. That’s exactly what happened and we have three separate DLC add-ons to look forward to, starting in June.

Speaking at an evening event at GDC 2012, DICE developers Karl Magnus Troedsson and Patrick Bach introduced the Close Quarters pack, and teased two additional chunks of DLC: Armoured Kill and End Game.

• Battlefield 3: Close Quarters –  Players are dropped into a frantic, infantry-only theatre of war. Frostbite 2 high definition destruction makes the environment come alive as everything from furniture to plaster gets shot to pieces. Players will feel the intensity of the world exploding around them as rubble and broken pieces pile up on the floor, while tight level design and vertical gameplay create a highly competitive environment. Battlefield 3:Close Quarters also introduces new weapons, assignments and unique dog tags to bring back to the base game.
• Battlefield 3: Armored Kill – Following the tight infantry gameplay of Battlefield 3: Close Quarters, DICE will release Battlefield 3: Armored Kill that ups the ante for vehicular mayhem as only Battlefield can do. Featuring new driveable tanks, ATVs, mobile artillery and more, Battlefield 3: Armored Kill also delivers huge battlefields for an all-out vehicle assault, including the biggest map in Battlefield history.
• Battlefield 3: End Game – The fourth expansion pack will ship in the winter but details remain tightly guarded.

Close Quarters will have four maps, ten additional weapons, dog tags and new achievements. DICE is looking to theme all of its DLC, and the focus for Close Quarters is squarely on infantry skirmishes – Bach said that the maps were similar to Operation Metro, which he stated was one of Battlefield 3’s most popular maps. It’s out in June.

Unlike Operation Metro, however, Close Quarters will focus on vertical map design and destructible environments. Only one of the four maps, Ziba Tower, is currently being shown, taking place in an office complex with multiple floors, neatly partitioned spaces and trendy looking light fixtures.

The four Close Quarters maps provide “some of the most intense moments [Battlefield has] ever had,” said Troedsson.

The two other packs, Armoured Kill will release in autumn and End Game due to release this winter. The thematic focus of Armoured Kill will be on vehicular combat – Troedsson said one of the Armoured Kill maps was “the biggest map that DICE has ever built” – and the contents of End Game are currently being kept a complete secret.

The new expansions are the second, third and fourth packs respectively to be released for Battlefield 3 since it launched in October last year: Back to Kirkand, which revisited maps from Battlefield 2, released in December 2011.

“Instead of delivering piecemeal map packs, we’re giving players a completely new experience with every themed expansion pack to keep the action fresh,” said Patrick Bach, Executive Producer on Battlefield 3.

“Our expansions are designed to excite our large and active fan base while attracting new recruits with gameplay that is dynamic and unpredictable every time.” said Battlefield 3 producer Patrick Bach.

DICE CEO Karl-Magnus Troedsson happily revealed that PS3 and Xbox 360 Battlefield 3 players can now customize/rent their own servers so they can setup the exact types of matches they want, like PC players can. The console versions of the games still however, have small maps and limited player counts. More details on that are expected shortly.

PlayStation 3 owners will get all Battlefield 3 DLC one week ahead of their Xbox 360 and PC counterparts. The trailer for the new DLC will be out next week.

Stay Tuned!!!