One of the projects that’s been rumored for a minute is a spinoff to the Battlefield franchise. Well, thanks to a couple of leaks last night, EA finally released the official trailer for Battlefield: Hardlines and… it’s not quite what I’d expect from a game called Battlefield.

To what extent will this be a multiplayer-focused experience, or are they strictly going campaign with this one? And will DICE be involved in any way? Why Battlefield?

Developed by Dead Space studio Visceral Games, Hardline is a shift from the military drama of the main entries in the series. Interestingly, EA is pushing the narrative angle on this one (which has to date been the weakest elements of the series), boasting that Visceral will lend its storytelling prowess to this shooter inspired by TV cop dramas. Visceral is one of the studios tapped to develop a Star Wars game for Lucasfilm, recently bringing on Uncharted writer Amy Henning to develop the story.

The trailer, titled “Into the Jungle,” offers some brief glimpses of gameplay mixed in with what looks like some story content. And that story involves some Bad Boys II-level mayhem out in the mean streets of… well, EA hasn’t said. The publisher is promising a full reveal during their E3 press conference on Monday, June 9 at noon Pacific.

What they’re saying about it:

“Visceral Games brings its critically-acclaimed storytelling swagger to an all new cops and criminal fantasy inspired by some of the most popular TV crime dramas.”

Swagger, indeed.

[Source: Kotaku]