Looks Like Microsoft Has Battlefield 5's Marketing Rights

As you might have imagined given that the Xbox logo flashed at the start of Battlefield V's reveal trailer, it looks like Microsoft has the marketing rights to DICE's upcoming shooter.

Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg tweeted about the Battlefield V reveal today and noted that EA and DICE are "partners" to Microsoft for the game. This, along with the Xbox branding in the trailer, strongly suggests that Microsoft has the marketing rights to the game. Greenberg used the hashtag #GamesPlayBestOnXboxOne in his tweet, which is no doubt a reference to how the Xbox One X version may end up being the best-looking and best-running platform for the game due to the console's increased horsepower relative to the standard Xbox One and competing platforms such as the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.

Xbox engineering boss Mike Ybarra added to this with his own fiery tweet. After tweeting that Battlefield V is the "best shooter" that he's looking forward to, someone on Twitter said Ybarra was only saying that because Microsoft is (apparently) paying to be the game's marketing partner. Ybarra fired back to say his excitement over the game does not have anything to do with Microsoft reported paid partnership with EA for the game. "Do you think I care about 'marketing rights'?" he said. "Who cares who's [sic] logo is at the end of an ad. Not me."

Given that Battlefield V's DLC maps will be free for everyone, there does not appear to be an opportunity for Microsoft's partnership with EA to extend to include early access to map packs. For Call of Duty, Sony partnered with Activision to offer extra content for Call of Duty games first on PlayStation platforms (Sony has taken this away from Microsoft in recent years).

Battlefield V launches on October 19 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. But the $80 Deluxe Edition unlocks on October 16, while EA/Origin Access subscribers can start playing on October 11. That's noteworthy because it is one day before Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches on October 12.

As previously rumored, Battlefield V takes place during World War II, making it the first installment in the series to be set during the conflict since 2009's Battlefield 1943. It's also the first game in the series since Battlefield 3 to feature a cooperative campaign, called Combined Arms, which allows up to four players to work together on missions. Like Battlefield 1, the upcoming installment boasts a single-player War Stories campaign. On the multiplayer side, DICE is adding Grand Operations, which is a larger, more in-depth version of Operations from Battlefield 1. Additionally, Battlefield V may add a Battle Royale mode after launch. EA is promising to share more details on Battlefield V at E3 next month.

For lots more on Battlefield V, check out GameSpot's roundup feature, "Battlefield 5: Release Date, New Modes, And Everything We Know."