DICE: 256-player Battlefield 3 is possible, but "not fun"

Long before MAG or, er, this thing were throwing around numbers large enough to make calculators blush, the Battlefield series ruled the multiplayer shooter roost. So, why not make a move to reclaim the old throne?

Well, because bigger's not always better.

"A lot of people ask us about 64 versus 128 or 256 players. Technically, we can go to 256, we’ve tried it. We play tested with 128. You’ve got to make a game that’s fun to play. And, arguably, we think that the most fun you can have is when it’s between 32 and 40 players," DICE CEO Patrick Söderlund told AtomicMPC.

"And we’ve done substantial research into this and tested 128 and that it’s not fun. Maybe we haven't done our design work good enough, but we just feel like there's no point in going higher than 64."

So there you have it. 64 players is the sweet spot, and DICE has no intention of going above and beyond the call of duty. Well, it does intend to go above and beyond the Call of Dut-- oh, you know what we mean.