'Battlefield 4' Megalodon Easter Egg: 'BF4' YouTube 'Phantom Prospect' Video Triggers Community Hunt On Paracel Storm [VIDEO]

Easter eggs, or messages, jokes and features hidden by developers in video games, have been around since 1979. However, one such rumored Easter egg – a hidden Megalodon -- has taken the “Battlefield 4” community by storm.

According to several rumors, "BF4," the next-gen multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and Sweden-based DICE, may contain an Easter egg involving a prehistoric giant shark known as the Megalodon.

While rumors of such an Easter egg in “BF4” surfaced even before “Battlefield 4” was released in October 2013, they attracted little attention. Many likened the Megalodon rumors to the “Battlefield 3” meme that requested EA DICE add dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex (T.Rex) as a new gameplay feature. EA DICE responded in jest, by featuring a T. Rex toy in the single-player campaign of “Battlefield 3” and in multiplayer maps such as Wake Island.

Recently, a video posted by JackFrags, a “Battlefield” commentator well-known in the “Battlefield” community, proposed that the Megalodon rumor may have more credence than initially thought.

While the Megalodon rumor was the centerpiece of his video, JackFrags also revealed an Easter egg within the “Battlefield 4” Battlelog Web platform interface. Recently, an achievement called “Phantom Prospect” appeared in “BF4”'s Battlelog, requiring players to play “Battlefield 4” premium once and then accomplish certain tasks that were unknown to many "BF4" players prior to this video.

The requirements can be revealed to “BF4” players by going to the leaderboards page of Battlelog and then clicking on a skull icon on the bottom-left corner. A PC console screen then appears, prompting for a passcode.

Jackfrags explains that the password is derived from 14 braille statues located throughout the China Rising expansion pack. Each braille statue contained a number corresponding to a letter in the alphabet. Intrepid users discovered the anagram that the letters formed. By rearranging the letters, they form the phrase “bump in the night,” which also happens to be the passcode required for the “BF4” Battlelog “Phantom Prospect” Easter egg. However, it doesn’t stop there, since the “Phantom Prospect” achievement then requires 200 kills with assault rifles, 200 kills with main battle tanks, and a 300-meter headshot.

Jackfrags linked the “Phantom Prospect” title to a novel of the same name, which is about treasure hunters looking a legendary wrecked warship off the Nova Scotia coast. In their efforts to dive down to the ship, the treasure hunters encounter a presumed extinct giant shark, known as the Megalodon.

Further evidence of the rumored Megalodon Easter egg is apparently present in the “Battlefield 4” premiere episode of “Battlefield Friends” on YouTube, with the “noob” character screaming out to another player, “Get out of the water! There’s Megalodons!”

JackFrags posits that EA DICE’s collaboration with “Battlefield Friends” creators Hank & Jed Movie Pictures may have had a hand in the rumored Megalodon Easter egg in the Paracel Storm map of “Battlefield 4.”

Another piece of evidence was an interview of “Battlefield 4” multiplayer producer Aleksander Grondal, who explicitly said that “the secret is still in [the Paracel Storm map].”

Whether or not that “Phantom Prospect” achievement is required to find the rumored “Battlefield 4” Megalodon is still up for debate. However, that hasn’t stopped the “Battlefield 4” community from going on an all-out hunt to find the Megalodon Easter egg. A quick look at the “BF4” server list on Battlelog shows several “Battlefield 4” servers playing the Paracel Storm map with about 1-3 players on each one, presumably searching for ways to trigger the hidden “BF4” Megalodon Easter egg. A quick search shows at least seven servers dedicated to discovering the Megalodon “Battlefield 4” Easter egg.

Much of the “BF4” Megalodon hunt appears to be centered on area around the damaged warship, which crashes to shore during the Levolution event on the Paracel Storm map.

As for actual progress in the “Battlefield 4” Megalodon Easter egg hunt, players have discovered some clues in the Paracel Storm radar tower, which contains the word “RAWR” and the number “1015,” which some “BF4” players have proposed, refers to a 1015 meter radius from the radar tower, in where the Megalodon can be found.

Another piece of evidence discovered is a “Battlefield 4” campaign dogtag, labeled “Carcharodon,” the first half of the scientific name of the Megalodon.

While it’s unclear if the “Battlefield 4” community will be able to uncover the rumored Megalodon Easter egg soon, we’ll be keeping an eye out for any new development.

What do you think might trigger the “Battlefield 4” Megalodon Easter egg? Do you think the “BF4” Easter egg will actually involve a Megalodon? Let us know in the comments.