Yeah, I will admit it, the title is a joke. EA can annualize Battlefield as much as they like (as long as quality does not drop). The point is that Battlefield: Hardline has been delayed until early 2015. It is only a few extra months, which haters can still it to be a yearly release schedule, but it will not be under your tree, at least not this year.

Apparently, release dates are not hard lines…

DICE (not Visceral??) made the announcement on their Battlefield blog. Three areas will be worked on with the free time: Multiplayer "Innovation", Single Player Story "Depth", and Stability. I could remember a time, prior to ubiquitous internet access, that "stability" was a certification requirement, not a stretch goal. That was also a time that some platform owners could push you out of their first-party release windows to increase their own sales. I guess, give and take?

Battlefield: Hardline is now set for a launch in early 2015. That should be one less distraction from your Grand Theft Auto V PC experience.