EDMIX
Writes a lot, says very little
nobody plays any games from 15 years ago. So its not like ppl just don't want to play old BF games. They don't want to play ANY old multiplayer games.
Im sure Portal would be way more popular if it was free to play or something. Asking ppl to buy an expensive bad game just to play a mode is a big ask.
COD Black out was one of the best Battle Royale games, but it didn't catch on. Because u had to buy Black Ops 4 to play it. And ppl didn't like Black Ops 4 for whatever reason. That didn't mean that a BR COD wasn't good or popular. It just meant that ppl weren't willing to jump thru the paywall of buying a game they didn't want to play for that mode.
As evidenced by the fact that COD then made a shittier BR game. but put it out for FREE. and it became wildly successful
Maybe you have a point East, maybe Portal Free 2 Play with several BF titles maps and guns is the way to go for the old school concept and not a full price or packed into new game type thing.
APEX had like 100 plus million so, who knows. I think the idea is too great to let go.