DICE's initial pitch to take Battlefield back to World War 1 was initially "absolutely rejected" by EA Studios boss, Patrick Söderlund.

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"It wasn't the most obvious choice," Söderlund said at the EA Investor Day briefings yesterday. "When the team presented to me the idea of World War 1 I absolutely rejected it. I said 'World War 1 is a trench war, it can't be fun to play'."What convinced him was DICE's decision to physically show him how we was wrong (a pretty bold gambit when it comes to your boss):"The team continued and persisted in the fact that this can be fun, and showed up with a very short demo that convinced me at least that this was the right path. The good news is whenever you take creative risks and it works, you actually can get to substantial success."The Battlefield 1 Söderlund seems enthused, but preaches caution: "I think that the World War 1 theme is resonating with players out there, I think we have done something that will be right for the franchise and right for EA [but] we have to remember that so far we've only shown one trailer, and yes it's gotten a lot of success, but what's important is now we have to go back and make sure we deliver on the full promise of what Battlefield can be - and that we will do."Battlefield is set to release on October 21 , and fans can go hands-on with the game at the EA Play events in Los Angeles and London June 12-14.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and he quite likes the idea of a trench warfare game that's all about existential dread, playing cards and shouting insults at snipers. Follow him on Twitter