Battlefield V

Presentation

Battlefield V is a first-person shooter developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. Following Battlefield 1, which explored World War I, the series returns to World War II, combining a narrative campaign with multiplayer battles involving infantry, armored vehicles and aircraft.

The single-player campaign returns to the War Stories format, an anthology of independent narratives inspired by different events of the conflict. Under No Flag follows Billy Bridger, a former British prisoner recruited for a sabotage mission in North Africa. Nordlys accompanies a young resistance fighter in occupied Norway, while Tirailleur portrays Senegalese soldiers fighting to liberate France. Added after release, The Last Tiger presents the war from inside a German tank crew.

These stories alternate between stealth, direct combat and sequences involving military vehicles. Their structure favors relatively open missions, in which players can sometimes choose their approach and take advantage of environmental destruction.

Multiplayer, the central focus of the experience, features battles supporting up to 64 players. Maps represent different theaters of war, including the snowy landscapes of Norway, Dutch cities, the French countryside and the deserts of North Africa. Combat revolves around squad coordination, objective capture and the combined use of infantry, tanks and aircraft.

Players can choose from four classes: Assault, Medic, Support and Recon. Each has specific weapons and equipment, along with Combat Roles that provide additional specializations. Squad members can revive their teammates, while Medics have more extensive healing and revival capabilities.

Battlefield V also introduces a fortification system. Soldiers can build sandbags, obstacles and various defensive structures at predefined locations. The Support class has additional construction capabilities. Combined with environmental destruction, these fortifications allow players to reinforce defensive positions and reorganize the front lines.

Managing ammunition, health supplies and resupply plays a greater role than in several previous installments. Soldiers must rely on teammates or supply stations, while vehicles have limited resources. Points earned collectively by a squad can also be spent on reinforcements, including vehicles and support strikes.

Among its multiplayer modes, Grand Operations expands on the Operations concept introduced in Battlefield 1. It connects multiple maps and types of engagements across several fictional days, with the results of one battle influencing the conditions of the next. Conquest and Breakthrough focus on territorial control and the capture of successive objectives.

Two additional experiences complement the game. Combined Arms offers cooperative missions against AI-controlled enemies, while Firestorm adapts the battle royale format to the Battlefield universe, featuring battles of up to 64 players on a vast map surrounded by an advancing ring of fire.

Following its launch, Battlefield V expanded through Tides of War, a program of updates introducing maps, weapons, vehicles and events. The expansion of the conflict into the Pacific, featuring American and Japanese forces and battlefields such as Iwo Jima and Pacific Storm, represents one of the most significant additions to the game.

Key points

• A military FPS set during World War II.
• A single-player campaign featuring four independent War Stories.
• Stories set notably in Norway, North Africa and France.
• Multiplayer battles supporting up to 64 players.
• Combat combining infantry, tanks, aircraft and environmental destruction.
• Four classes: Assault, Medic, Support and Recon.
• A fortification system allowing players to reinforce defensive positions.
• Resource management involving ammunition, medical supplies and vehicle resupply.
• Squad Reinforcements unlocked through collective actions.
• Grand Operations, structured around several interconnected battles.
• Signature modes such as Conquest and Breakthrough.
• Combined Arms, a cooperative experience against AI-controlled enemies.
• Firestorm, a battle royale mode supporting up to 64 players.
• Tides of War, which introduced additional content after release.
• The arrival of the Pacific theater, featuring American and Japanese forces.

Conclusion

Battlefield V combines the large-scale warfare characteristic of the series with a portrayal of World War II built around several theaters of operations.

The War Stories explore the conflict through individual perspectives, while multiplayer emphasizes cooperation between classes, vehicle combat and the transformation of defensive positions through fortifications and environmental destruction.

Grand Operations, cooperative modes and the content introduced through Tides of War complete this structure. Together, these elements cover different forms of warfare, from infantry operations to mechanized battles and engagements in the Pacific.

Good to know

Battlefield V was developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts.

The game was released on November 20, 2018, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

It uses the Frostbite game engine.

The campaign includes a prologue and four War Stories: Under No Flag, Nordlys, Tirailleur and The Last Tiger. The latter was added in December 2018, after the game's launch.

Multiplayer supports up to 64 players, divided into two teams. Soldiers can form squads of four members.

The four classes feature Combat Roles that provide additional specializations. Available weapons and equipment depend on the selected class.

The fortification system allows players to construct cover, obstacles and certain defensive positions. Support soldiers can build specialized structures and reinforce positions more quickly.

Squad Reinforcements use points earned collectively during matches. Squad leaders can request specialized vehicles or support strikes, including the powerful V-1 and JB-2 rockets.

Grand Operations generally take place over three fictional days, with a possible fourth day in the event of a draw. They combine several modes and maps within a single operation.

Combined Arms, added in February 2019, features eight cooperative missions that can be played alone or with up to three other players against AI-controlled soldiers.

Firestorm, launched on March 25, 2019, pits up to 64 players against one another in solo matches or squads of four on the Halvøy map.

The War in the Pacific chapter, introduced beginning on October 31, 2019, added American and Japanese forces, new equipment and maps such as Iwo Jima and Pacific Storm.

Unlike several earlier installments, Battlefield V did not feature a separate Premium Pass that divided players according to their owned maps. New maps and major modes were distributed through Tides of War, alongside paid customization items.

Development of major new content concluded in 2020, following six Tides of War chapters and a final summer update that introduced additional maps and weapons.

On PC, Battlefield V was also among the first games to support real-time ray-traced reflections, using DXR technology and compatible graphics cards.

The game includes a single-player campaign and multiplayer modes that require a connection to Electronic Arts' online services.