Battlefield 4 will focus on modern warfare, DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson has confirmed.
Speaking at GDC Europe, the exec said the studio's own desires, fan responses and metric data provided by market research dictated the decision.
"There's a lot of things inspiring us as to how the franchise will move on. Everything from fans' feedback, to market research and, of course, what we want to build ourselves. It's not just one single thing," he said
(via Joystiq).
"We still want to stay in this genre, the modern day as it is. We feel this is a place we can be and continue with the series. Battlefield 4 can live in this space and be very successful."
Bad Company fans were also given a glint of hope by the exec: "That doesn't mean there might not be a Bad Company game again in the future."
EA confirmed Battlefield 4 last month in a trailer posted on the Medal of Honor: Warfighter website. The video revealed those that pre-order the Limited Edition of Danger Close's sequel will be granted access to the Battlefield 4 beta.
Following the reveal a DICE community manager said the decision to continue the franchise with Battlefield 4 instead of Bad Company 3 wasn't "due to any lack of love for BC inside of DICE".
The Battlefield 4 beta will be available in autumn 2013 and the Battlefield 4 release date is expected to fall in the latter half of 2013.