Battlefield Hardline is a 2015 first-person shooter game created by Visceral Games and released by Electronic Arts. It was made available in March 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It is the fourteenth game in the Battlefield series. Hardline focuses on crime, heists, and policing instead of military battles. When it was released, the game received some positive and some negative reviews. Critics praised its multiplayer mode, ease of use, and voice acting, but they criticized the story and stealth gameplay. It was the last Battlefield game released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and also the final game developed by Visceral Games before the company closed in 2017.

Gameplay

The game focuses on the "war on crime," which is different from the military themes of earlier games in the series. In Hardline, the main groups are police Special Response Units and criminals. Players can use military weapons and vehicles, like the Lenco BearCat, as well as police tools such as tasers and handcuffs.

The game includes the "Levolution" mechanic from Battlefield 4. For example, in the map "Downtown," players can control a construction crane to crash into a building, tearing down debris that falls onto the streets of Los Angeles. Every map now has several Levolution events, both small and large.

New game modes in Hardline include "Heist," "Rescue," "Hotwire," "Blood Money," and "Crosshair" Mode.

• Heist: Criminals must break into a vault filled with cash (or open an armored truck) and move the cash to an extraction point. Police must stop them. If criminals successfully move all the money to the extraction point, they win.
• Blood Money: Both sides must collect money from a central crate and return it to their armored truck. Teams can steal money from the opponent’s truck. The team that first deposits $5 million into their truck or has the most money by the time limit wins.
• Hotwire: Cars replace traditional Conquest "flags." Capturing cars (by driving above a certain speed) reduces the enemy team’s reinforcement tickets. The team that reduces the other’s tickets to zero or has the most tickets left after the time limit wins.
• Rescue: In a 3-minute, 5 vs. 5 match, S.W.A.T. officers must rescue hostages held by criminals. Cops win by rescuing the hostages or killing all criminals. Criminals win by killing all cops or protecting the hostages until negotiations end. Players have only one life and cannot respawn.
• Crosshair: A 3-minute, 5 vs. 5 competitive mode where criminals try to kill a VIP (a former gang member turned witness) controlled by the police. Criminals win by killing the VIP; cops win by getting the VIP to the extraction point. Players have only one life and cannot respawn.

Visceral Games confirmed the single-player campaign will not follow a strict, linear path. It will include episodic crime stories where choices affect how events unfold and gameplay. As a cop, players can use police tools like a badge to order criminals to surrender, a scanner to identify targets and mark threats, and bullet cases to distract enemies.

Synopsis

Miami is involved in a drug war. Officer Nicholas "Nick" Mendoza (voiced by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez, motion captured by Nicholas Gonzalez) has recently become a detective. He works with veteran detective Khai Minh Dao (Kelly Hu) to follow the drug supply chain from the streets to the source. As they investigate more difficult cases, they learn that power and corruption can affect both law enforcement and criminals.

In 2012, Miami Police Detectives Nick Mendoza and Carl Stoddard (Travis Willingham) make a drug arrest that turns violent. After capturing a suspect, Captain Julian Dawes (Benito Martinez) pairs Nick with Khai to investigate a lead about cocaine broker Tyson Latchford (Adam J. Harrington). They force Tyson’s associate, Tap (David DeSantos), to wear a hidden recording device and discover a new drug called Hot Shot being sold in Miami. They rescue Tyson from armed men, but Khai is seriously injured and must rest for weeks. After returning to duty, Dawes orders Nick and Khai to arrest Leo Ray (Graham Shiels) at the Elmore Hotel. They fight armed men connected to drug dealer Remy Neltz (T.J. Storm), who is distributing Hot Shot. During the arrest, Khai injures Leo after he insults her.

Leo’s information leads Nick and Khai to the Everglades, where they find drug bales being dropped. They discover Neltz’s operations and Leo’s body, which was likely killed for cooperating with the police. They locate Neltz but escape back to Miami. Before leaving, Neltz mentions he made a deal with Stoddard. The detectives corner Neltz in a warehouse, but Stoddard kills him before he can explain the deal. Nick leaves in anger after Stoddard and Khai take money before other officers arrive. Later, during a hurricane, Dawes sends Nick and Khai back to the crime scene to find evidence against Stoddard. They find a recording implicating Stoddard, but Nick discovers his former partner in a meeting with other dealers. They work together to rescue Khai from armed men. Later, they meet Dawes, who destroys evidence against Stoddard and reveals that he and Khai are corrupt. Dawes, Khai, and Stoddard betray Nick, framing him for laundering drug money.

Three years later, in 2015, Nick escapes from a prison bus with help from Tap and Tyson. Khai, who planned the escape, joins Nick and Tyson in Los Angeles. She explains that during Nick’s imprisonment, Dawes started a private law enforcement firm called Preferred Outcomes and has expanded to other cities. Khai sends Nick and Tyson to disrupt the Korean Mafia’s drug business in Los Angeles, which is controlled by Dawes. They follow a lead to the home of drug kingpin Neil Roark (Mark Rolston). Nick devises a plan to steal Dawes’ money by using Khai’s phone as a tracking device. They escape after a brief fight with Roark’s men.

Dawes’ money is stored in a vault at his corporate headquarters in Miami. Boomer, a friend of Nick, arranges to meet a former associate, Dune (Alexandra Daddario), who introduces them to her father, Tony Alpert (Fred Tatasciore). Alpert betrays them, revealing that he created Hot Shot and killed an ATF agent to hide his plans for a civil war. Nick and Boomer escape Alpert’s compound and learn that Alpert was behind the drug’s creation. Dune helps them flee to an abandoned airfield, where Nick wins a tank duel against Alpert and escapes with Boomer.

As Khai, Nick, Boomer, and Tyson prepare to return to Miami, they are attacked by Stoddard. Nick kills his former partner and sends a photo of Stoddard’s body to Dawes. The group arrives in Miami and infiltrates Preferred Outcomes’ headquarters. They find Dawes’ vault, but it is booby-trapped. Tyson is seriously injured but survives. Nick answers Khai’s phone in the vault and hears Dawes tell him to meet him on Santa Rosita, an island off the coast of Florida. Nick leaves his group to find medical help for Tyson and travels alone to the island. He finds Dawes in his mansion, where Dawes offers Nick a chance to take over Preferred Outcomes. Nick agrees and kills Dawes. In Dawes’ office, Nick finds a letter explaining why Dawes framed him and discovers an underground vault containing Dawes’ money, now belonging to Nick.

Development

Battlefield Hardline was announced in a blog post by Steve Papoutsis, a senior executive at Visceral Games. The game was originally planned to be revealed during E3 2014, but details were shared before the official announcement. Unlike other Battlefield games that focus on military battles, Hardline uses a "cops and robbers" gameplay style. A leaked trailer referred to the game as Omaha. Ian Milham, the creative director, said Visceral began developing Battlefield Hardline about a year before Dead Space 3 was released, which suggests development started in early 2012.

On June 14, 2014, the Battlefield Hardline beta test was available to the public. This followed an official announcement at E3 2014 that the beta would soon be available on PC and PlayStation 4. The beta ended on June 26, 2014.

At E3 2014, EA stated the game would run at 1080p on PlayStation 4 and aimed for the same resolution on Xbox One. However, on March 8, 2015, Visceral Games said the PlayStation 4 version would run at 900p, while the Xbox One version would run at 720p. On February 3, 2015, the Battlefield Hardline beta was available to all platforms. It was reported that 7 million people participated in the open beta, and the game received positive feedback from critics and players. On February 24, 2015, Electronic Arts confirmed the game had been declared gold, meaning it was ready for production and release.

Release

On July 22, 2014, EA announced that they would delay the release of Battlefield Hardline from October 21, 2014, to March 17, 2015. The delay was made to use the feedback received during the public beta testing.

The Premium Edition of the game was announced on March 2, 2015. Players who purchased the Premium Edition could unlock several features, including masks, a Gun bench that allows players to customize their weapons, and "Legendary Status," a feature related to the game's progression system. On the same day, the four expansion packs for the game—Criminal Activity, Robbery, Getaway, and Betrayal—were announced. Like Battlefield 4’s Premium Program, premium members of Hardline received access to the four expansion packs two weeks before other players. The Criminal Activity DLC introduced four new maps, new vehicles, masks, and weapons. According to lead multiplayer producer Zach Mumbach, this expansion would focus more on "destructibility." A new game mode called "Bounty Hunter" was also included. It was released in June 2015. The second expansion, Robbery, added a five-versus-five multiplayer mode called Squad Heist, new paints, weapons, and "Legendary Super Feature." This expansion was released in September 2015. The third expansion, Getaway, introduced a new mode called "Capture the Bag" and new maps. It was released on January 12, 2016. The final expansion, Betrayal, was released in March 2016.

The game was removed from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 storefronts on July 31, 2024, and online servers for both platforms were shut down on November 7, 2024. The game will be removed from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One storefronts on May 22, 2026, and online servers for both platforms will shut down on June 22, 2026.

Reception

The PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions of the game received "mixed or average" reviews from Metacritic, a website that collects reviews. In Japan, where the game was released on March 19, 2015 (the same date as the PAL version), Famitsu gave the console versions scores of 9, 9, 8, and 8, totaling 34 out of 40.

Anthony LaBella of GameRevolution praised the PS4 version’s stealth gameplay, action scenes, detailed single-player story, exciting multiplayer, and the Heist mode, which requires teamwork. He also liked new modes like Hotwire and Crosshair, which he said showed a shift from warfare to crime and offered fun beyond typical Battlefield gameplay. However, he criticized the predictable story, flat characters, poor presentation of the campaign, and uninteresting plot. He concluded that the combination of stealth-focused gameplay and multiplayer modes made Battlefield Hardline a worthwhile game in the Battlefield series.

Brian Albert of IGN praised the enjoyable single-player story, comedic moments, decent plot, voice-acting, likeable characters, well-designed levels, realistic weapons, and the need for patience and skill in the campaign. He also liked the variety of multiplayer modes, dynamic Hotwire mode, and varied maps. He praised new features like the grappling hook and zip-line, which made movement faster. However, he criticized the unlock system for not rewarding players fairly and the overly simple AI. He concluded that the game’s focus on stealth made the campaign fresh, and the multiplayer had something for everyone.

Jeff Marchiafava of Game Informer said the PS4 version’s single-player campaign was confusing and had a weak ending. However, he said the multiplayer mode still lived up to the Battlefield name. He summarized that while the campaign was weak, the core of the Battlefield series remained strong.

Ben Griffin of GamesRadar+ praised the multiplayer’s friendliness to new players, refreshing modes, rewarding interrogation system, and detailed character models. However, he criticized the unfocused campaign, simple AI, and overuse of stealth, which he said did not improve during the game. He concluded that while not as strong as previous Battlefield games, the faster-paced Hardline was still a good version.

Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb praised the game’s collectibles, which had meaningful context. He criticized the poor AI partners and weak story that failed to develop characters or build tension. He concluded that Battlefield Hardline was not a disaster but felt like the franchise was making small changes instead of progressing. He also noted that the game had a smoother launch than Battlefield 4, working well on all platforms.

Brett Phillips of VideoGamer.com strongly criticized the PS4 version’s campaign, calling it the worst in the series. He also criticized poor spawn points, unnecessary item scanning, clichéd story twists, chaotic Conquest mode, boring Hotwire mode, and the removal of weapons like rocket launchers. He said the progression system did not match the story and the maps lacked creativity. He called the game “forgettable” and said it failed to stand out from Battlefield 4.

Adam Rosenberg of Digital Trends gave the Xbox One version 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a success with a strong story and fast multiplayer. Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat gave the Xbox One version 86 out of 100, saying EA and Visceral created a new direction for the Battlefield series. Chris Holzworth of EGMNow gave the PS4 version 7.5 out of 10, saying it improved gameplay and added new modes but was not revolutionary. Edge gave the PC version 7 out of 10, calling it a lower-budget version of the main game. Mat Growcott of Push Square gave the PS4 version 7 out of 10, saying it was original but only worth playing if players liked previous Battlefield games. Kirk McKeand of The Daily Telegraph gave the PS4 version 6 out of 10, saying the multiplayer was good but the campaign felt like an expansion rather than a full game.

James McMurtie of National Post gave the PC version 7 out of 10, saying it played smoothly and felt new despite similarities to Battlefield 4. Mike LeChavalier of Slant Magazine gave the PS4 version 3.5 out of 5, saying it had good multiplayer but lacked fresh ideas. David Jenkins of Metro gave the PS4 version 7 out of 10, saying the cops-and-robbers theme had some issues but the game had enough unique features to be worth playing. Andrew Phillips of The Digital Fix gave the Xbox One version 6 out of 10, calling it a game with weak single-player and average multiplayer. Ebenezer Samuel of New York Daily News gave the same console version 3 out of 5, saying it was solid but not exciting. Michael Thomsen of The Washington Post gave the PC version a poor review, saying the multiplayer was the best part, while the story and police work elements were weak.