Ben Cousins, executive producer at DICE confirmed that they are working on five titles in the Battlefield franchise. We know that they are working on Battlefield Heroes and of course the soon-to-be-released Battlefield: Bad Company, you have to wonder what the other three are.

But the team is also at work on three other games based on the series, including a traditional core game aimed at consoles, and a new collaboration with Neowiz specifically for the Korean market. "Since the start of this year I've been working as executive producer for the entire Battlefield franchise - we've got five titles in development at the moment, which is probably more than you expect," Cousins told the GDC Paris audience during his keynote presentation.

Check out GamesIndustry.biz for more information

bit-tech.net has a nice interview with Ben Cousins, the executive producer of the whole Battlefield franchise. In it he talks about a three pronged attack, but read it yourself what exactly he says.

BT: Between the console-based Bad Company and the more casual, kind of accessible feel of Heroes, some hardcore fans may be worried that the once realistic, PC-only shooter is now...

BC: Changed?

BT: Yeah, like it's going to suddenly become this casual, console-only shooter.

BC: Well, I'm the executive producer on the franchise. I'm really in charge of the entire Battlefield franchise and it's very clear to me that there are three... well, we have to make this a three-pronged assault with the series really.

First, there are consoles. Consoles are really big, we can't ignore them, we have to be on the consoles. Second, there's this casual experiment we're going with Battlefield: Heroes and the third prong is the hardcore PC gaming experience. We've made those in the past and we'll continue to make them in the future. We aren't specifically announcing anything, but we are still going to keep those hardcore gamers very happy.

A lot of people are confused when they see Heroes because they see it and assume that that is the future of Battlefield on PC, but it isn't.

So Heroes is not the future, but an experiment. More weight on Battlefield 3 please?

Read the full interview

EA has just announced that, and I quote: "The blockbuster entertainment experience of the summer isn't at the movies."

Here is their blurb about the release. Pay attention to the special gold edition.

Prepare for the gold rush! This summer, the blockbuster action event of the season will not be in theatres. EA DICE, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that Battlefield: Bad Company will ship to retail outlets on June 23. Action fans and gamers worldwide will get their chance to join the 'B' company on exciting, sometimes irreverent, missions that take them through deserts, cities and mountain terrain to capture the spoils of war. Players will experience the tactical, destructive power in the deep single player campaign or go online for intense multiplayer action that only the Battlefield team can deliver.

For a limited time only, gamers will be able to purchase the Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company. The Gold Edition pack features exclusive content with behind-the-scenes action and strategy videos giving Battlefield: Bad Company players tricks and tips on how to own the battlefield. The Gold Edition also gives gamers early access to five unique weapons that players can take into battle. These weapons can also be unlocked after the launch of the game by ranking up to the highest level in multiplayer mode.

"Players can forget about using walls as cover as we've fundamentally changed the way to play shooters offline and online through the use of tactical destruction," says Karl-Magnus Troedsson, Senior Producer for Battlefield: Bad Company. "Players will get the chance to reap the spoils of war this summer as they annihilate the enemy and search for gold in the dark, character-driven, single player storyline while returning Battlefield fans will love the intense and vehicle heavy multiplayer."

So finally we get to experience the Frostbite Engine hands on. What enhancements they will incorporate for the release of Battlefield 3 is open for speculation.

Although this is not Battlefield 3, Bad Company has the technology in common with BF3. The Frostbite engine can already show what it has under it's hood, and that in a DX9 environment.

Here the official announcement:

Attention All Battlefield Soldiers!

We are recruiting for an exclusive Battlefield: Bad Company™ beta.

The beta will be available on Xbox 360® and downloaded through Xbox Live® Marketplace.

The beta will give you a first look at two multiplayer maps, Ascension and Oasis.

We have a limited amount of beta codes available so enlist now, by sending an email to battlefieldbeta@ea.com

Xbox Live® Gold Account required to play the beta.

So if you got an Xbox 360 and can't wait to play the next Battlefield, this might be a good snack for the wait till then.

There is a lot of games out there you can buy special editions for. I personally own three times Starcraft (with each of the three races) as well as Quake 3 in the tin box. I also pre-ordered Grand Theft Auto IV special edition and I am sure this wont be the last of it's kind.

There was a special edition of Battlefield 2142 although not very well spread or highly advertised. It's special content was limited to some making off videos which you could download for free as well. Not to slight that, I enjoyed watching it and the DICE boys and girls know how to make movies, but it left a little bit of a stale taste in my mouth.

Now BF3 is approaching and what will happen this time? Is a special edition even wanted? What could be in it? What should be in it? What shouldn't?

Join our discussion of the week

To answer some questions that frequently pop up in the forums and I get asked even more frequently in private messages and by email, I added a Frequently Asked Questions page. Since it is all inside our pages which are essentially a wiki, you can go and edit it yourself with your forum login if you see a mistake, or want to add something.

Please don't ask new questions about Battlefield 3 in there though, but rather in our BF3 discussion forum, so you get fast responses. I will monitor the forums and add new questions as they pop up.