Electronic Arts, better known as EA, has delisted a PlayStation and Xbox game permanently today, leaving the game available to purchase on PC only. Those who already own the EA game on PlayStation or Xbox will be able to play it as normal, but only until June 22. Come June 22, the EA game’s servers will shut down, leaving only the single-player portions of the game playable, and the rest of the AAA game, most of the AAA game, completely unplayable, regardless of whether or not you own it. Those on PC don’t have any deadlines to worry about right now, as the EA game remains available to purchase on PC, with no need to worry about servers shutting off. These worries and issues are only for PlayStation and Xbox users.
More specifically, as of today, May 22, Battlefield Hardline is being removed from sale on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store, leaving PlayStation and Xbox fans on PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X no option to buy the game but hunt down a second-hand physical copy. Why the EA game is shutting down on console and not PC, EA does not specify, but it is surely because there is still a player base on PC worth retaining and maintaining. And clearly, the same is not true of console. Meanwhile, not only does this apply to the base game, but all DLC for it.
Battlefield Hardline is a first-person shooter released in 2015 by Visceral Games, not the normal series developer, DICE. That said, perhaps it is not surprising that the 14th installment in the long-running series is among the worst. It is also the last game ever made by Visceral Games, which closed two years later, and it was the final Battlefield game to be released on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Upon release, the game earned an average Metacritic score of 72, far below the highs of the series. Critics and consumers alike lamented that the Battlefield game didn’t feel very much like a Battlefield game, due to some major gameplay changes. That said, it’s a big-budget, competent shooter, and one that some still play to this day, like many Battlefield games, and within the series, it feels unique, which has also helped it retain more players than it probably would otherwise.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the video game conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.
