Battlefield 4 has been one of the most critically acclaimed games available at launch for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, despite some post-launch issues that have marred the game somewhat. Now EA has acknowledged that new problems have arisen concerning the release of the Second Assault DLC on the Xbox One and an executive for the publisher discusses the possibility of a free to play version of Battlefield being released in the future.

The Second Assault DLC is a timed exclusive for the Xbox One, but not all users have been able to download the DLC despite it being available now for Battlefield Premium buyers. Fans began complaining on the Battlelog forums, leading to an EA representative to give a statement saying that the company is working on trying to figure out the cause of the error:

"I know some of you have said already that it is being looked into but I wanted to just confirm it for you so you guys have a blue post to refer to. Right now all I can say is that we are aware of this issue and are currently investigating this with Microsoft. Once we have some more details I'll be sure to let you know."

While this undoubtedly is bad news for Xbox One owners, considering that the DLC is exclusively timed they should be grateful for the chance to play it early even if it is delayed somewhat.

At the same time, EA Studios executive vice president Patrick Söderlund spoke to MCV about the future of the franchise. Söderlund was asked about a free to play console version of Battlefield in the future, and the executive quickly shot the idea down:

"Will console games be free-to-play going forward? There will be some games that will be free-to-play but I also think that they will be different in nature to full games. I think a lot of people prefer to pay for the full game and get access to everything. And I wouldn't use the word free-to-play; they are not free."

The vice president clarified that EA Games is not opposed to free to play games, but the business model fits mobile games more than a blockbuster series such as Battlefield:

"I think all these business models will co-exist...Some prefer to pay $60 and get the full experience. Sometimes when I play freemium games on mobile I feel 'these guys just want more money.' When I pay $60 for Battlefield, I know what I am getting. And I think there are players that prefer that. And it's not a case of one or another, they can both exist and there may be hybrids too."