Battlefield V is ditching the Premium Pass model that DICE used on the last few mainline Battlefield titles, with all post-launch playable content available for free to all owners of the base game. With that in mind, fans of the franchise have been wary of this new approach, as the developer did the same thing for Battlefront 2 (2017) and the results were disappointing to say the list. In order to assuage potential players’ fears, DICE has just revealed the roadmap for the first four months after Battlefield V hits shelves, and with it, the release window for their Firestorm Battle Royale experience.

Here’s a text version of the same roadmap:

Chapter 1: Overture (December-January)

• Panzerstorm multiplayer map (tank-focused, thank the gods!)
• Single-player War Story: The Last Tiger (follows a German tank crew in the closing stages of the war as they “question the ideology that got them to this point”)
• Practice Range (based on the Hamada map, lets players improve their shooting, driving and flying skills on a stress-free environment)
• Vehicle Customization (visual, as gameplay-altering customization options will ship with the base game on November 20th)
• Weekly events that highlight Battlefield V‘s new gameplay mechanics and reward players with new stuff.

Chapter 2: Lightning Strikes (January-March)

• Combined Arms: a cooperative experience designed to pit human squads against AI opponents. The roadmap mentions “Combat Strike missions” set across several maps, and in previous interviews, DICE employees talked about new missions being generated every time we launch the game, so theoretically we’d be able to play an endless amount of content.
• Two new multiplayer modes, Rush (with bombs instead of MCOM stations) and Squad Conquest (a smaller-scale version of Conquest, featuring two squads per team (16 players total) instead of the classic 64-player mayhem we’ve grown accustomed to). The roadmap mentions that Rush will only be available during Lightning Strikes, so it would seem that the Tides of War service will offer time-limited content.
• Weekly events similar to the ones featured in the previous Chapter.

Chapter 3: Trial by Fire (starts in March, no end date specified)

• Firestorm (Battlefield‘s own take on Battle Royale): This eagerly awaited DICE–Criterion collaboration was an open secret in the months leading up to Battlefield V‘s reveal, and according to the roadmap, it’ll mix up modern Battlefield gameplay (squads, vehicles, destruction) with Battle Royale mechanics (a shrinking playing field, teams being eliminated after all their members die, looting, etc).
• Greece multiplayer map: Allied players must defend the Cretan coast as Axis forces storm their defenses with devastating aerial attacks. This map seems to be different to anything we’ve seen in modern Battlefield games, as the teams don’t seem to be equal (the roadmap states that one side has “tank control” while the other possesses aerial superiority).
• Weekly events similar to the ones featured in previous Chapters.

According to DICE, more content will follow after Chapter 3, though we do not have specific details on anything beyond the roadmap we shared above.

I have to say that while I am still eagerly awaiting Battlefield V, the base game that will be released on November 20th seems thinner and thinner with every new piece of information. I knew that the Battle Royale mode wouldn’t be out on launch, but having to wait until March seems a bit excessive, and the same goes for the cooperative experience (strangely enough, the infamous reveal trailer focused on that feature). Hopefully there will be enough content to keep players hooked until the first few Tides of War chapters roll out.