Tease or Mistake? Origin Briefly Lists Early Battlefield 5 Beta Start Date
Thus far, DICE has only held a closed alpha test for the upcoming Battlefield 5. An open beta is planned, however, and for a moment fans were led to believe that it might be a lot sooner than expected. The entry on the Origin platform for Battlefield 5 was recently updated to include new dates; dates which seemed to suggest an earlier-than-planned start for the Battlefield 5 beta. However, it seems that it may have all been a mistake.
Dates Listed on Origin for the Battlefield 5 Beta
The briefly altered dates on Origin were spotted by Twitter user @DANNYonPC. The altered tile for Battlefield 5 listed a pre-load date of the 13th of August, and a release date of the 14th of August. Of course, the game’s actual release date is scheduled to be the 19th of October, so the change prompted one conclusion from fans; that the open beta dates had been changed. However, a lot of things don’t seem to match up. DICE traditionally announces dates like these far in advance, for one. It would be strange if neither they nor EA announced anything and simply revealed a release in a few days’ time. Indeed, the beta is meant to start in September.
In fact, since the initial scramble of fans trying to uncover more information, the tiles on Origin have been changed again. The dates have now been removed. In their place is the normal message; “No longer available on Origin”. It’s possible, then, that this was all a mistake. Perhaps somebody at Origin accidentally listed dates ahead of time, or indeed, listed incorrect dates. It’s certainly possible. The one possibility which might still make sense is that DICE may have planned a last-minute second closed alpha. Recently, the studio was asked on Twitter if they would consider it, and they responded:
They say if you wish for something hard enough…
— #Battlefield V (@Battlefield) August 8, 2018
It’s possible, if unlikely, that DICE could hold an extra alpha at the last minute due to the success or otherwise of the first event. If so, then it could happen very soon. As such, if something is indeed planned for the 14th, another closed alpha is the most likely thing. However, the most likely explanation overall is that it was all just an error.