Reinforcements: Battlefield 1 Update Plans

Now Battlefield 1 [official site] has been out for a fortnight (here's Wot Brendan Thinks of it), DICE are gabbing about their future update plans. In the near-ish future, you can expect a rebalancing of the map Suez, Hardcore servers, the introduction of 'Custom Games' including a team deathmatch mode, and a free new map.

The new map will be Giant's Shadow, arriving in a free update in December. Here's the official word on it:

"Prepare to take part in the Battle of the Selle in the cold autumn of 1918. Here, the fighting moves out of the trenches and into open country where a massive crashed airship casts its shadow onto the battlefield. The British forces have broken through the Hindenburg line and are now in pursuit towards an important railway center. Fierce infantry and tank engagements ensue on the open ground and river banks alongside the Cateu-Wassigny railway where an armored train can still turn the tide."

Before then, Custom Games will arrive with the first week-long 'Battlefest', which will begin on November 16th. The first will be Fog of War, a team deathmatch mode in which "you will be challenged by limited sight as you're fighting in fog with the mini-map and soldier name tags turned off." What could go wrong?

Then there are Hardcore servers, which are supposedly "coming soon", whenever that is. I don't believe the specifics for BF1 have been detailed yet, but BF Hardcore server rules tends to amp up challenge by disabling health regen, forcing friendly fire on, making soldiers squishier, turning off crosshairs, and so on.

For word on what they're changing in Suez, word on matchmaking tweaks, hints of the Rent-a-Server program, and other odds and ends, check out their blog post.