EA and DICE have announced Battlefield: Bad Company, a new single-player game in the popular franchise, for PS3 and Xbox 360. Built from the ground-up for next-gen consoles using Digital Illusions’ Frostbite game engine, Bad Company will feature a “deep, cinematic single-player experience loaded with adventure and dark humor.” The game will have players stepping into the shoes of a squad of renegade soldiers behind enemy lines on a personal quest for “gold and revenge.”

As per the announcement, Bad Company will feature sandbox gameplay in an universe where nearly everything is destructible. “The heart of DICE’s multiplayer games is the frenetic, unpredictable nature of the sandbox experience, where anything could happen at any moment, and that’s what we’re bringing to the core of Battlefield: Bad Company’s single-player campaign, said Karl Magnus Troedsson, senior producer at DICE. “In a world that’s 90 percent destructible, the gameplay possibilities are infinite — the battlefield is always changing, forcing players, teammates, and enemies to react accordingly. Gamers will have total freedom to adapt to and tackle challenges in creative Battlefield-style ways.”

Slated to ship sometime next year for the aforementioned consoles, Bad Company will also feature multiplayer options that will make use of the game’s massively destructible environments. No other details or screenshots were released, but EA did send out an image showing highly detailed soldiers’ faces.

Digital Illusions has announced that EA’s relationship with the company has culminated in a full merger between the two companies. Previously a majority stockholder in the Battlefield developer, EA will now acquire the remaining stake in the Swedish developer, effectively making DICE a fully integrated studio within EA.

In connection with the merger, DICE shareholders will receive SEK 67.50 per share in cash, representing a premium of 30% to DICE’s closing price on March 16, 2006. EA currently owns approximately 68 percent of the shares of DICE. EA also holds warrants, which entitle EA to purchase an additional 2.3 million shares. On a fully diluted basis, EA owns approximately 74 percent of the outstanding capital and votes in DICE.

The merger is subject to approval by a 2/3 majority vote of shares at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting of DICE, which is scheduled for May 24, 2006. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to close in September 2006.