Xbox Addict

Battlefield 4 dev running 'Player Appreciation Month' in February

Battlefield 4 developer EA DICE is making an effort to appease players and make up for the game’s numerous problems with Battlefield 4 Player Appreciation Month, which will run for the month of February, the studio announced today.

DICE previously ran a Player Appreciation program for a week in late November, following "turbulence" during the game’s launch period. Next month, the studio will offer daily giveaways for logging in to Battlefield 4 in the form of bronze (on weekdays) or silver (weekends) Battlepacks, which contain items like XP boosts and character skins. Gold Battlepacks will also be unlockable in community missions, in which players will be asked to work together to reach a particular goal.

Players will also be able to take advantage of unlocks for all of the grenades and handguns in the game, if they so choose, in order to "make up for lost time," according to a blog post from DICE. Battlefield Premium members will get additional weapon shortcuts that unlock all DMRs and shotguns.

DICE is planning a double XP weekend for all players, and an additional one for Premium subscribers. The studio is also trying to satisfy fan requests for increased interaction with Battlefield developers, so during February, players will be able to ask questions to "some of the core developers of Battlefield 4."

Karl Magnus Troedsson, vice president and general manager of DICE, also said the studio is working on improvements to the game’s netcode that will "tighten the overall multiplayer experience," and is bringing back Battlefield 3’s Platoons, the social feature that allowed players to track stats together in groups. Troedsson reiterated that DICE appreciates fan feedback and takes it seriously, and said that players can stay informed about game updates in the Battlefield 4 Control Room, but did not otherwise acknowledge the ongoing issues with the game.

"If you are currently playing Battlefield 4, we hope you enjoy this monthlong community appreciation. If you haven’t played in a little while, it’s a great time to get back in the game. Whoever you are, we appreciate the time you spend withBattlefield 4, we thank you for your support and we hope to keep hearing from you," said Troedsson.

The Player Appreciation Month will run from Feb. 1 through March 6.