3 Battlefield titles to be delisted from digital stores this month

The end of an era. Electronic Arts has announced that three Battlefield titles will be delisted from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 digital stores by the end of this month.

According to a press release, the Battlefield team has announced that on Wednesday, July 31st, Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3), Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3), and Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3) and their downloadable content will no longer be available for download from their respective digital stores. Players who still own the game will have until November 7 to continue playing online on these platforms. After that, the games will still be playable in single-player mode.

However, this process will only affect this generation’s consoles, allowing these titles to continue to run well on newer platforms. Among the details given, it is mentioned that Battlefield 3 will be playable on PC, while Battlefield 4 and Battlefield: Hardline will be playable on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as this announcement does not affect those titles on those platforms.

Over a decade of support

It is worth noting that Battlefield 3, the longest running title on the list, is almost 13 years old since its release. The game was released on October 25, 2011 and is the twelfth installment in the franchise. The next title, Battlefield 4, hit consoles on October 29, 2013, while Hardline, a sort of spin-off focused more on police elements with a focus on crime and heists, arrived on March 17, 2015.

In the Electronic Arts FAQ regarding games being removed from their catalog, they mention that these titles are “disappearing for legal reasons or because players are asking for resources elsewhere”. With newer titles in the franchise and new titles coming in the near future, it is understandable that resource management would move to platforms where it is likely to be more active.