'Battlefield 1's World War 1 setting was originally rejected by EA.
Battlefield 1
Executive vice president of EA Studios, Patrick Söderlund, admitted he was not impressed when the idea was pitched to him and turned it down flat before eventually reconsidering.
He said: "It wasn't the most obvious choice. I said, World War I, it's trench warfare, it can't be fun to play. But the team continued and persisted that this could be fun and showed up with a very short demo that convinced me, at least, that this was the right path.
"If you look at what other partners in the industry are doing, they're going into sci-fi. We've had a lot of success in the modern military space. But we felt like there was a need for a change."
And it was clearly the right decision as the trailer has had over 30 millions views and is the most seen trailer in the history of EA.
Patrick added: "The good news is whenever you take creative risks and it works is you can actually get to substantial success. I think what the interest is telling us, with 31 million views and the most seen trailer in the history of EA, is that I think the World War One theme is resonating with players out there. I think we have done something that will be right for the franchise and right for EA".
'Battlefield 1' is scheduled for release on October 21, 2016.