Battlefield 3 Gerüchte

Release in late 2008
Powered by “Frostbite DX”
Set in year modern day (just like BF2, ed.)
Will ship with 8 maps, each supporting up to 40-players per team
Two playable factions, NATO and MEC (Middle Eastern Coalition)
Same “ticket-based” gameplay style as before
Maps are mostly urban, based in Middle East
Squads and Commanders are present, introduced are “Battalions” which consist of three to four squads.
Five playable classes; Sniper, Assault, Engineer, Medic and Support
Will feature 48 different vehicles (24 for each faction)
Will feature 34 different weapons (17 for each faction) and another 22 unlocks (for both factions), in total 56 different weapons.
Other unlocks include different types of ammunition, body armor, helmets, camouflage and accessories.
Possible public beta in “Summer 2008″
Online stats tracking, awards and “real world ranks”
“Soldier” feature, looks like MMO-styled characters and avatars
Ranked servers will be available for resellers weeks before the game ships (for testing, apparently, ed.)
In-game replay and recording feature
VoIP, friends list, in-game IM-client and “extensive clan support”
Built-in auto software updater (no more patches!, ed.)
Widows Vista and OS X (no XP?!, ed.)
Announcement and teaser trailer in January 2008