Battlefield 1 at 10: Why DICE’s WWI Shooter Still Endures

Why DICE’s First World War Shooter Still Feels Unmatched

Ten years after its release, DICE‘s extraordinary take on the Great War continues to set the benchmark for large-scale military shooters.

Battlefield 1 is arguably one of the best examples of a big-budget shooter getting its identity, atmosphere and sense of scale absolutely spot on. Ten years later, there’s an interesting argument to be made that DICE created something that modern military shooters have struggled to replicate.

Battlefield 1 Official Reveal Trailer

Watch the official Battlefield 1 reveal trailer from EA/DICE

An Unrivaled Sense of Scale and Atmosphere

It made war feel like war, it wasn’t just in the ballistics of bombs and bullets, it was the atmosphere that bonded it all together. The muddy trenches, distant artillery, screaming aircraft, collapsing buildings, and frantic firefights for territory that, at times, felt genuinely overwhelming. All of this combined brought a remarkable sense of scale and unpredictability that has been difficult to manufacture in more conventional military shooters.

Ruined buildings and a devastated battlefield on the St. Quentin Scar map in Battlefield 1.

War-torn ruins on St. Quentin Scar in Battlefield 1. Image credit: DICE / Electronic Arts.

Sound design was a massive part of that visceral experience and the passion and dedication from the voice actors and sound engineers reinforced what must surely be a benchmark that many shooters must hold themselves to,even today. The soundtrack, composed by Patrik Andrén and Johan Söderqvist, also helped establish an identity that was distinctly Battlefield 1. The game didn’t just look like a war game depicting WW1, it also sounded like a war game depicting WW1.

Perhaps Battlefield 1’s most recognized track, the one that players identify most with the game is the hauntingly beautiful song ‘Dawn of a New Time’ the Macedonian folk song (Zajdi, zajdi, jasno sonce) set against a beautiful orchestral mix featuring sampled vocals by Turkish singer Aliye Mutlu.

This track did for Battlefield 1 what Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard‘s beautiful track ‘Now We are Free’ did for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. It created an iconic identity beyond the medium.

The game brings some of the best art, game and sound design where its evident that the dedication and passion from the DICE development teams really shone through to deliver possibly the best warfare FPS game ever developed and one that holds up 10 years on.

Game Design Depicted a Larger Unfolding Campaign

Operations was one of the games crowning achievements in game design. Rather than simply playing a match, you were participating in a larger offensive or defensive campaign. Combat was notably swift and unforgiving. The outcome of one battle could influence the next, and created a greater sense of purpose and investment into what you were doing, there was a real need to win, a purpose for where you influenced the battle as an individual working for a common objective.

Even Battlefield 1’s in-game art helped transport you to a different place in time, from the classical ornate painted portraits on the walls of houses in St Quentin Scar, to the vintage advertisements that made Amiens feel like a living,breathing city, albeit an abandoned one on the verge of a major conflict of brutal street fighting and house clearing.

Rain-soaked cobblestone street and damaged buildings in Battlefield 1's Amiens map.

A rain-soaked street on Battlefield 1‘s Amiens map. Image credit: DICE / Electronic Arts.

The game also took the campaign in a unique way, rather than following one central character, it introduced several protagonists, each experiencing a different aspect of the conflict. This gave us a sense of what the war was like across the various bloody campaigns that cost so many lives.

War in Far Away Lands

Some stories were more successful than others, but it was a brave approach that allowed DICE to explore different perspectives, nationalities and experiences.A great example of this is the exploration of how WW1 played out in the Middle East. Of note is the single player mission ‘Nothing is Written’ and the depiction of T.E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and the Bedouin rebels, whose guerrilla tactics were central to the Arab Revolt.

World War I biplane banks above the desert battlefield in Battlefield 1's Sinai Desert map.

A biplane over the Sinai Desert multiplayer map in Battlefield 1. Image credit: DICE / Electronic Arts.

There are a handful of games that leave an indelible mark on us when we play them, Battlefield 1 had an unmistakable identity, one you could hear, see and feel within seconds of entering a match, it is testament to what can be delivered when teams are passionate about what they are making and when they recognize the significance and importance of an optimised player experience.

It’s no secret that players still resonate with older games rather than play new ones. In total, games older than one year accounted for 84% of all active playtime on Steam in Valve’s 2025 Steam Replay. Steam’s own Replay report revealed that gamers spent 40% of playtime on “Classic Games”, which are 8 or more years old; a further 44% went to games one to seven years old.

There’s also an interesting recent development that underlines Battlefield 1’s enduring legacy, Steam player activity in the game increased considerably in March 2026, with the monthly peak reaching approximately 21,771 concurrent Steam players, more than three times February’s peak.

Beyond all that, no other game quite made you feel the crushing sense of loss when your horse died because the tank got the better of you in the desert of Sinai.

Battlefield 1

Release: 21 October 2016

Genre: First-person shooter (single-player and multiplayer)

Developer / Publisher: DICE / Electronic Arts

Platforms: PC (Steam / EA app), PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Battlefield 1: A Masterpiece That Stood the Test of Time