Second Battlefield 5 Closed Alpha Confirmed After Dates Leak Early on Origin
Earlier this week, a set of dates briefly appeared on Origin’s listing for Battlefield 5. The dates were quickly taken down, but provoked widespread speculation from fans; was DICE planning to change the beta dates? Was a second closed alpha planned? Or was it merely a mistake. Now, DICE has confirmed that the second option was correct; the studio is planning to hold a last-minute second Battlefield 5 closed alpha event.
A Second Battlefield 5 Closed Alpha is Confirmed
DICE confirmed the upcoming event today on EA’s website. Normally, these events are announced weeks in advance. However, it seems likely that this extra event is somewhat impromptu, spurred by the success of the first closed alpha. “We promised that there would be more opportunities for select players to get an early hands-on with Battlefield V before the October launch.” stated the update; “Today, we’re telling players all they need to know about Battlefield V Closed Alpha 2, set to start on August 14 and run for a limited time.”
It seems that the dates which appeared briefly on Origin were indeed for this second closed alpha. For a short time, the Battlefield 5 tile on Origin listed a pre-load date of August 13th, and a release date of August 14th. However, it was unclear at the time what the dates were for. Now it seems that they may have been mistakenly made visible a few days ahead of schedule. While most of the Battlefield 5 alpha content will remain the same, DICE is apparently focusing on different things to test this time around.
“The focus of this test is player progression speed,” states the update; “We have made some changes that we think will better cater to players across all play styles and skill levels based on how fast players scored points, and how quickly they progressed through the ranks in the first Closed Alpha”. There will also be improvements to matchmaking and weapon balancing. Details of this change were published in a separate post on the game’s forums. Like the first closed alpha, the test event will be invite-only and for PC players.