EA Almost Didn't Do Battlefield 1 Because They Thought Kids Wouldn't Know WW1 was a Thing

As you've no doubt ascertained, (and we've discussed at length) part of the reason Battlefield 1 seems to be enjoying so much success is that it's deciding to shake things up: rather than being a modern war, or set in the city, or even freakin' space, it's taking a step back to warfare's roots and looking at the seminal tragedy of the modern era--World War 1.

A bold choice. Not only because World War 1 was such a political clusterf@#k that setting a game there came with all kinds of strange dilemmas, but also because, as EA CFO Blake Jorgensen revealed to the crowd at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2016 Global Technology Conference, there were fears within the company that no one knew World War 1 was a thing.

And I quote:

"World War 1, we were worried that many of the younger consumers out there didn't know that there was a World War 2 or Vietnam, so World War 1..."

They were so worried, in fact, that EA Studios boss Patrick Soderlund initially rejected DICE's pitch for Battlefield 1. It took quite a lot of convincing, as it turns out, to change his mind.

"I think what people don't understand about World War 1 is the technology shift that went on during the war. People started the war on horseback and ended the war with airplanes and tanks and battleships and submarines. And that's a huge opportunity for us to be able to do a video game around."

It's cool to see more games focus on such an important, yet underrepresented time in our world's history. Sad, though, that EA has such little faith in its own audience that it assumes people wouldn't know World War 1 is even a thing. What, did they think kids were under the impression they stuck a 2 at the end of the second one just because it was so badass? Or because it was the sequel to the Seven Years war, the 18th century conflict that was technically the first war? Sheesh.

Well, good thing they decided to put a little faith in our history teachers, because excitement for Battlefield 1, which coming out October 21st, is still going strong.