Battlefield V

The introductory episode of Battlefield V, titled “My Country Calling” or “Prologue”, is a tutorial required upon first launching up the game. In it, the player learns the basic mechanics on how infantry, tanks, and planes, as well as setting the tone for future war stories. The prologue begins after Battlefield 1's “Storm of Steel” left off, before cutting to a black screen with white text, commentating on how society was quick to forget the horrors of the First World War. The prologue then jumps forward to London 1939, with Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany being played on the radio. The narration then begins before the player steps into the shoes of a British paratrooper, during a night raid at Narvik Docks, 1940. The player then must defeat several German soldiers before a Tiger I tank appears, and the screen fades to white. The player is then placed into control of tank commander Peter Muller, the main character of the “Last Tiger” war story. In this instance, however, the player is tasked with breaking British lines at Tobruk, before an artillery strike causes another character change. After the transition, the player is then put in control of a free French sniper, presumed to be one of the same soldiers as the “Tirailleur” war story, around the Kasserine Pass. After sniping several enemies during an ambush sequence, the player character is then killed when a strafing run hits them. The camera then pans to a Bf 109 pilot titled Yellow-Seven. This time, the player must shoot down a variety of Blenheim and Spitfire aircraft, before being shot down themselves. Finally, the player takes the role of a British machine gunner during the Final Defense at Nijmegen Bridge, 1944. A V1 flying bomb soon detonates on their position, however, and the player goes into a last stand before getting killed in the onslaught of gunfire. Upon completion of all introductory segments, the player is then shown cinematic clips of the war stories, before being treated to the game's title card.

In the spring of 1942, convicted bank robber William Sidney "Billy" Bridger, the son of another infamous bank robber, Arthur Bridger, volunteers to join the British military in order to avoid jail time, and is assigned as a demolitions expert to a Special Boat Service team led by George Mason (Craig Fairbrass). Billy and Mason infiltrate occupied North Africa in order to sabotage German airfields. However, things don't go as planned at the first airfield; one of Billy's bombs ("safecracker specials") fails to detonate, much to Mason's anger, forcing Billy to commandeer an anti-aircraft gun to destroy the final plane. Mason is wounded, and after an argument with Mason about whose fault it was that Mason could have been killed, Billy and Mason steal a German's car and drive to the second airfield. However, due to Mason's wounds, Billy is forced to infiltrate the airfield alone. Billy is able to destroy the objectives, but detours to a nearby bunker to collect medical supplies for Mason, and uses the radio there to call HMS Sussex for evacuation. After destroying the base's radar stations, Billy returns to report to Mason. However, Mason is furious when he finds out Billy radioed for help, since it would alert the Germans to their exact location. A massive German force begins to pursue them and they are forced to hide in some ruins. Billy begins to express doubts at his own competence and their chances of survival, as well as grieving over his failure to please his father. Mason confides in Billy that he picked him to volunteer for the unit because his many attempts to rob banks, especially three of one bank, showed him as a "tryer," a person who doesn't easily give up. Inspired, Billy fights alongside Mason in a last stand. They manage to hold off the German forces long enough for British reinforcements to arrive, and the Germans are subsequently routed. In the aftermath, Billy and Mason have a newfound respect for each other as they head off for their next mission.

In the spring of 1943, in Rjukjan, Norway, a British commando unit is killed attempting to infiltrate a German occupied facility and Astrid, the Norwegian resistance fighter assisting them, is captured. Meanwhile, Astrid's daughter Solveig fights her way into the facility to rescue her. However, Astrid refuses to leave, insisting that the facility must be destroyed first since it is producing heavy water for Germany's nuclear weapon research. The pair manage to sabotage the facility, but much of the heavy water is evacuated by truck. They attempt to pursue, but are cornered on a bridge by German forces commanded by Leutnant Weber. Entrusting Solveig with the mission to destroy the heavy water, Astrid pushes her off the bridge to prevent her from being captured. Narrowly surviving the fall, Solveig carries on the mission, pursuing the trucks and destroying all of them. Unfortunately, the Germans have already loaded Astrid and some of the heavy water on board a U-boat, and Solveig is unable to board it. Astrid steals a grenade and uses it to destroy the U-boat and the heavy water, killing herself and Weber in the process. It is left unclear whether Solveig survived the explosion or not.

In the autumn of 1944 after the Allied landings at Normandy, Senegalese soldiers are sent to help liberate France from German occupation. One of these soldiers is the young recruit Deme Cisse, who meets fellow soldier and older brother Idrissa upon arriving in France. However, Deme quickly experiences discrimination from the French army, with the Senegalese being blocked from fighting on the frontlines and instead assigned to perform menial tasks such as filling sandbags. Finally, the Senegalese are allowed to participate in an assault on a heavily fortified German position by moving to destroy a set of anti-aircraft guns defending the area. The Senegalese are ambushed on the way to their objective, but they are able to capture and hold a German strongpoint. Idrissa is reluctant to proceed further since their commanders are dead and they have no support, but Deme is determined to keep pushing to the anti-aircraft guns in order to win recognition from the French army, and he convinces the rest of the unit to follow him. They are successful in destroying the anti-aircraft guns, but suffer heavy casualties in the process. In addition, a wounded German soldier boasts they will be surrounded, destroyed in the inevitable counterattack, and that nobody will know they were even there. A hopeless Idrissa, fearing that he won't come home to his family alive, considers withdrawing, but Deme insists that they do what the Germans won't expect them to: directly attack the German headquarters. They manage to break into the headquarters, but are ambushed by a Tiger tank. Idrissa is mortally wounded after destroying the Tiger, much to Deme's shock. Despite Deme's unit having taken the headquarters, their involvement in the operation is covered up and forgotten. In the present, an elderly Deme recounts his story and declares that no matter what happens, nothing can erase what he and his comrades had done, and that he is proud of it.

In the spring of 1945, veteran Tiger I commander Peter Müller and his tank crew participates in the defense of the Rhine-Ruhr against invading American forces, with orders from High Command that all German soldiers must fight to the death. After surviving a series of heavy engagements, the Tiger is forced to take cover from Allied bombers. At the behest of Schröder, the crew's young and fanatically patriotic gunner, Müller has young loader Hartmann scout the ruins ahead for a passage through. A large American tank column suddenly appears, forcing the crew to leave Hartmann behind. The Tiger receives orders to regroup at the cathedral with other remaining German forces for a final defense; en route, they discover Hartmann had been executed by hanging along with several other accused deserters. They reach the cathedral, only to find it abandoned and are quickly surrounded by the American army, who demand their surrender. With new orders to defend their position, the crew fights off the enemy before making their way to the bridge, which leads back to German lines. The bridge is suddenly destroyed by a series of explosions, and the Tiger is disabled. Kertz, the crew's veteran driver, expresses his disillusionment in the German cause and decides to desert despite Müller's pleading; Kertz is then shot and fatally wounded by Schröder. As Müller cradles his friend's corpse, American soldiers arrive and again demand their surrender, but the fanatical Schröder continues to fight. Müller discards his Knight's Cross and raises his arms in surrender, after which an enraged Schröder aims his MP40 at him. The screen cuts to black and a burst of gunfire is heard, leaving Müller's fate ambiguous.

The announcement trailer generated a significantly negative reception, as fans of the series criticized the game for a lack of historical accuracy, authenticity and immersiveness. Complaints were given to the use of certain weapons, prosthetics, and body art as being very uncommon in that time period.[18] Fans were also frustrated with the portrayal of women in the game, specifically with the British woman featured prominently in the trailer as women never participated in frontline combat in the armed forces of the Axis or Western Allies, although many women served in the Soviet ground and air forces.[19]

Video game journalists acknowledged that the roles of women in World War II varied by country, highlighting examples of women soldiers and partisans from France and the Soviet Union, and pointed out that previous games in the Battlefield series were not intended as a realistic portrayal of war.[20] Some suggested that the backlash was partly due to misogyny, rather than genuine worries over historical accuracy.[21][22][23][24]

In response, the game's executive producer Aleksander Grøndal wrote on Twitter that the team would "always put fun over authentic."[25] DICE's general manager Oskar Gabrielson also responded on Twitter, saying "Player choice and female playable characters are here to stay ... Our commitment as a studio is to do everything we can to create games that are inclusive and diverse. We always set out to push boundaries and deliver unexpected experiences."[26] EA chief creative officer Patrick Söderlund said the developer was uninterested in taking flak for diversifying the gaming space. "We stand up for the cause, because I think those people who don’t understand it, well, you have two choices: either accept it or don’t buy the game," he said. "I’m fine with either or." Söderlund went on to say that the development team itself pushed for women in Battlefield V.[27] Despite this, in September 2018, prior to release, DICE "dialed back" the character customization options to be more historically accurate.[28]

In August, the Cowen Group, gaming industry analysts, reported that pre-order sales of Battlefield V were "weak," being 85% behind those of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.[29][30]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Battlefield V received "generally favorable" reviews for the PC and Xbox One versions and "mixed or average" reviews for the PlayStation 4 version.[31][32][33]

In Game Informer's 8/10 review, they wrote, "Ultimately, Battlefield V will be defined by the success or failure of the pending Combined Arms cooperative mode, Firestorm battle royale mode, and whether or not DICE can continually provide new and engaging content."[35] GamesRadar+ gave the game 3.5/5 stars, praising the gameplay but criticizing the online multiplayer, writing: "Not as drastic a change up as its WW1 predecessor, nor as wild or wondrous, Battlefield 5's deliberative design sidelines its strengths as a simulative sandbox."[38]

In November, it was reported that Battlefield V sold fewer than half the physical copies that Battlefield 1 did upon its launch during the same period of time.[44] The game sold 7.3 million copies by the end of 2018. On February 5, 2019, EA's CEO Andrew Wilson announced that the game ultimately failed to meet sales expectations, blaming the game's marketing as well as their focus on developing a single-player campaign instead of a battle royale mode, a genre which had gained recent widespread popularity. Wilson also highlighted Battlefield V's long development cycle, and release in a month of strong competition. EA's stock prices also faced its worst drop in more than a decade during its third quarter of the fiscal year, declining by around 18 percent, which EA attributed in part to the poor sales of the game.[45][46][47]

In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version of Battlefield V sold 110,653 during its first week of release, placing it at number four on the all format sales chart.[48]