I dunno, I imagine they’ve brought in as much or more cash with their current model than with premium. And at the end I’d the day, it comes down to the almighty dollar.
Halo 5 operated essentially as a live service for a good 2 years after launch. Some may even argue longer, and it was great.
When live service id done well you get a steady, varied, regular stream of new content and bug fixes. And it’s mostly free for those who don’t want to pay, or are willing top wait for paid items to eventually release as free. Hopefully DICE’s experience their gaining here can let them move more towards providing a successful live service than where we’ve been for a while.