Upcoming shooter Battlefield Hardline carries the Battlefield name, but its cops-and-robbers approach is different enough from the “core” Battlefield formula that fans will continue to play the game even after its follow-up is released. That’s according to creative director Ian Milham, who told IGN that he sees Hardline as having a long lifespan.

“I think we are making something different from the core of Battlefield that is being made and I think they can live along next to each other,” he said. “And whatever gets made next and whenever the next Battlefield comes along, I don’t think it necessarily replaces this one.”

No new Battlefield titles beyond Hardline have been officially announced, but series producer Patrick Bach said back in October 2013 that a potential Battlefield 5 would need to have “more features. More extras. More destruction.”

As for how Hardline developer Visceral Games plans to keep players hooked on Hardline as other titles enter the market, Milham teased that the studio has a “bunch of ideas.” The game’s single-player campaign will unfold like a TV show, so it’s possible Visceral could be looking to release new chapters over an extended period of time. He also stressed that Visceral will always listen to player feedback as it looks to the future.

“We are really trying to keep an open mind and an open dialog with people and be reactive about that,” he said. “It’s going to come out, and people will have passionate opinions and will play it new a way, and you can never really predict what people are going to do.”

Hardline was originally pegged to launch in under a month on October 21, but publisher Electronic Arts announced in July that it was moving the game to February 2015. A beta for Hardline was held in June for PlayStation 4 and PC, while a beta for all platforms (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC) will kick off sometime before the end of the year.

Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch

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