Battlefield 5 developers wish they'd included women in Battlefield 1, too

DICE faced a dumb, not entirely unexpected backlash for including women in the latest installment of its Battlefield series. Now Aleksander Grondal, executive producer at DICE, has declared his wish that the team added women to 2016's Battlefield 1 too, explaining that it's not about just following a trend.

"I mean, if we were getting on the bandwagon, I created Battlefield 1, and we could've 'jumped on the bandwagon' that time around," he tells GamesRadar+.

"I think it’s a shame we didn’t [add women], because that perhaps would've been better for us. I don’t think it’s a bandwagon thing, I think it’s about gamers wanting to express themselves in different ways. If you take a look at Battlefield historically, it’s been about expressing yourself through gameplay, solving problems the way you want to, and these characters fall perfectly in line with that thinking."

Grondal was tactful in his response to the misplaced outrage too, explaining why it was key to the Battlefield 5 formula.

"Of course, any time that someone is upset about some choices that you make in the game, it’s not great," he says.

"It’s not what you want to do, you want to create a game that’s the best game for all our players. That being said, we decided to make a game that involved personalising a character, creating your own company of soldiers. And we thought it was right that you could be able to be whomever you wanted to be in that context. We stand by that. I still think it’s the right thing to do, and I still think it’s the right thing for us as a franchise. It takes a good bit of balancing."

Battlefield 5 is coming on October 19, 2018 and you'll be able to play it on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Here's how to sign up for the next Battlefield 5 open beta .

Can't make it to Gamescom but want to feel like you're part of the action? Be sure to check out the full Gamescom After Dark schedule and tune in.