One of the major selling points of EA and DICE’s Battlefield 4 was the return of Commander Mode, which allows one player to dictate the actions of their team, while supplying backup in the form of boosts and supplies. Players could play this mode on their console or PC, but also on their smartphone or tablet using the Battlefield 4 Mobile Commander app. However, this is no longer the case as DICE has announced that the Mobile Commander app will be terminated. It has already been pulled from the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store, making it so new players cannot access the feature. For those that already have the app, it will continue to work until August 11th, 2015, when support will officially end permanently.
DICE explained the reasons for this decision by saying “This is not an easy choice, but we believe the time is right to retire the mobile app as we’re seeing more of our Commanders playing on PC and console.” Commander Mode on the PC and consoles will be unaffected by this change.
Overall the reception to this change seems fairly negative. Looking at the comments on the official announcement post you can see that many felt the app was an integral part of the Battlefield 4 experience. However, if what DICE is saying is correct, these people represent a vocal minority, as too few players were taking advantage of the Mobile Commander app to make it worthwhile to support.
Battlefield 4 is available now on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
