A new trailer out of Gamescom in Germany shows off lots of new gameplay footage from the upcoming Battlefield 1, and also reveals quite a bit more about the campaign. Set during World War I, the new Battlefield 1 trailer suggests a big part of the game’s campaign will recreate the military maneuvers of T.E. Lawrence, who strategized with Faisal I of Iraq as part of the larger Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and was best known by the moniker Lawrence of Arabia.
Check out the new Gamescom gameplay trailer for Battlefield 1:
Not only is Lawrence of Arabia shown in a cutscene toward the end of the gameplay trailer, but multiple segments throughout seem to show gameplay footage dramatizing various military maneuvers conducted during the guerilla campaign waged by pan-Arab forces strategized, in part, by Lawrence.
Trains are a big part of the new trailer, suggesting that players will recreate at least one of the numerous attacks on railway supply lines that proved to be a key component of the Arab Revolt.
Another map appears to be Petra, in modern-day Jordan (h/t to Flakfire’s in-depth analysis), the site of a Lawrence-led revolt that hinged on the local Bedouin women. Based on this new Battlefield 1 trailer, it looks like one of the game’s playable characters may be a Bedouin woman fighting in this campaign.
The emphasis on protracted desert campaigns in Battlefield 1 will even filter down into the multiplayer with developer DICE recently announcing a new mode called “Operations” where “the outcome of the current round carries over to the next map, giving you the opportunity to fight a sequence of inter-connected battles.”
According to the announcement:
“Operations offer epic journeys across several maps based upon real battles of World War I. We wanted to offer a large and epic experience with a focus on teamplay and frontline combat. Adding this meta-layer to the game mode, and stretching it across multiple interesting locations that both look and play very differently, adds a whole new layer of scale and variety to the battles in Battlefield 1. Your team can win on one map, proceed to the next map, and actually see the map you previously fought over on the horizon.”
Battlefield 1 open beta begins Aug. 31, with the release date following less than a month later on Oct. 21.
