Why the change to third person?

When making this game, we really want players to play the fantasy of being a lowly grunt fighting with overpowered weapons on behalf of an over-the-top, totalitarian system against genuinely real threats. From a design perspective, we want to deliver an experience that keeps you on the edge of your seat with moments of unpredictable, hilarious chaos.

The shift in perspective does both of these things! By cutting down from the omniscient point of view, you have a much more immersive, personal view of the battlefield. It's a different style of play than the first game. Communication with your squad matters even more, for example, if your squadmate is behind a cliff face and you can't tell if they are being attacked. And at the same time, surprises can lead to amazingly unpredictable moments as well, like thinking you're chasing after one enemy, only to find a whole different one right on your tail when you least expect it.

Those are our design goals, but it of course also takes loads of effort to make sure the experience feels real, smooth, and delightful. That is a lot of what we have been working on these past years.