Battlefield 2 expansions scrapped

From 1up.com

'Electronic Arts and DICE released Battlefield 2: Special Forces back in November, and though the two companies are notorious for copious expansion packs for the online games, they're forgoing a second full fledged expansion for the sequel.

Players will instead receive a set of Booster Packs at $9.99 each. Battlefield 2: Euro Force will be released on February 8th, with Battlefield 2: Armored Fury following up more than a month later on March 28th. Both will be available only online via EA's recently launched downloader service.

Due to the expansion pack cancellation, though, DICE has told investors of slightly lower project revenues for fourth quarter 2005, but they plan on recovering through higher royalty rates through the first half of this year. It's not known if the packs are a permanent replacement for any possible expansion packs in the future.

The packs themselves are fairly substantial; Euro Force contains a new primary weapon, four vehicles (including the Eurofighter) and the Operation Smoke Screen, The Great Wall of China and Taraba Quarry maps.

Armored Fury, however, focuses on large-scale mechanized battles "harking back to the El Alamein style maps on BF1942." It will also feature the Midnight Sun, Operation Harvest and Operation Road Rage maps alongside new vehicle classes including Attack Jets and Recon Helicopters.

There are also a number of fixes in the works for a version 1.2 patch that's set to be released "very soon."