Archives by Day

Battlefield 2042

Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Ripple Effect Studios
Release Date: Nov. 19, 2021

About Rainier

PC gamer, WorthPlaying EIC, globe-trotting couch potato, patriot, '80s headbanger, movie watcher, music lover, foodie and man in black -- squirrel!

Advertising

As an Amazon Associate, we earn commission from qualifying purchases.





'Battlefield 2042' Season One Delayed Until Later This Summer

by Rainier on Feb. 1, 2022 @ 12:02 p.m. PST

Battlefield 2042 is a groundbreaking first-person shooter set to revolutionize the modern multiplayer sandbox.

Powered by cutting-edge technology that pushes the capabilities of next generation hardware, the game drops players into a near-future, all-out-war experience that includes the franchise’s hallmark, game-changing destruction.

Featuring matches filled with up to 128 players and massive-scale maps on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PCs (Xbox One and PS4 are capped at 64 players and reduced map sizes), this unprecedented scale adds a new dimension to multiplayer battles.

Battlefield 2042 also ups the action with the inclusion of real-time events that reshape the battlefield and tactical combat. All new weapons, vehicles and gadgets give players the freedom to be strategic and create jaw-dropping, only-in-Battlefield moments.

In Battlefield 2042, the world is on the brink. Shortages of food, energy and clean water have led to dozens of failed nations, creating the greatest refugee crisis in human history. Among these Non-Patriated, or No-Pats, are families, farmers, engineers - and even soldiers. Amidst this crisis, the United States and Russia draw the world into an all-out war. No-Pat Specialists join both sides, not fighting for a flag, but for the future of the Non-Patriated in this new world.

Players will jump into the boots of Specialists, an all-new type of playable soldier for the franchise. Inspired by the traditional four Battlefield classes, Specialists will be equipped with their own unique Specialist Trait and Specialty, and will have fully customizable loadouts. As a Specialist, players will have access to a cutting-edge arsenal of weapons, equipment and vehicles to use in battle. These powerful new tools give creative players a wealth of options as they find the perfect combination to fit their play style and outsmart and outgun opponents on the battlefield.

You’ve waited patiently to hear from us on what we’re doing to address the issues with Battlefield 2042 that you have told us about, and the direction you can expect to see us take in the months ahead. Today we are stating our team's commitment to bring the game up to the highest standards that we all hold for the franchise.

We have heard you. So, we are heavily invested and committed to the future of Battlefield 2042 – working on taking action on multiple fronts to address feedback and implement extensive fixes to the game, key features that are important to you, and getting team play where it needs to be.

We’ve had to make some big decisions to ensure that our next set of updates can be focused on delivering these improvements, with the most substantial one being to move the release date of our first Season to early Summer. This decision gives us the time to focus on improving the Battlefield 2042 experience while finalizing the development of our seasonal content to ensure that it all reaches our standard for quality.

UPCOMING UPDATES

Here’s a snapshot of the features we are bringing into the game as soon as possible:

  • SCOREBOARD - In our next update, we’ll be adding a refreshed in-round Scoreboard alongside further changes we’ve worked on since the holidays. This will be an ongoing evolution from what was shown in the work in progress we shared recently. We have heard your feedback around including two tables and separating your own team versus the enemy, and are working on incorporating that for the release. K/D scoring and End of Round reporting will also be coming in a future update.
  • ALL PLATFORM VOICE COMMUNICATION - The arrival of voice communication (VOIP) is just the start of the improvements we’re bringing to enhance team play and communications.
  • PLAYER PROFILE - Giving you a better overview of your career on the battlefield and how far you have to go for your next unlock.

For team play, you can expect us to incorporate a clearer, tighter squad loop, a refined ping system, and an improved reward loop for when you and your squad play the objective. Gunplay will continue to receive feedback-based improvements too.

Portal remains an integral part of the game and we will continue to expand its tools, modes, and tweak player experience gains. Finally, we have a team analysing Specialists and working on them. We’re not quite ready to talk about actions we’ll be taking, but as soon as we are, you will hear from us.

A NEW FEEDBACK LOOP

We’re committed to pushing up the quality of the game, both through our updates, and how rapidly we will respond to critical issues in the live environment. We are also going to clarify the direction we’re taking, and what’s motivating our decisions to bring improvements to the game. So expect to get more insight as we expand our existing feedback loops to involve you, our players, more directly. 

Our team has identified several areas we’re targeting for improvements. This is how we will be incorporating your feedback going forward:

  1. We will present specific, major focus areas to you along with our current thinking, detailing where we’re planning to make changes.
  2. We’ll then take the time to observe and listen to the conversations that you go on to have about both the area of concern and our proposals for adjustment.
  3. Later, you’ll hear from us on the topic again but this time your feedback will have been factored into our consideration and guided the decisions made for improvements.

These conversations will be centralised, and accessible here on the Battlefield website, and summarised across our channels.

Later this month, this process will kick off with one of our key focus areas, map design. We want to outline to you our vision for how we’re going to approach and factor into our new maps enhancements to the gameplay experience, by addressing feedback on openness and lack of cover in key areas.

Big topics like map design will be loud and broadly shared, but for more nuanced areas of the game (such as Portal logic) we may have those conversations on smaller scales. The important part here is that all these conversations will happen publicly, and with everyone invited to take part.

Some of these feedback loops will cover bigger areas than others, and some loops will take longer to complete and realise in the game than others. That’s not an indication of how we might prioritise issues with the game, but a reflection on the nature of game development. Changes to our maps and core gameplay will take time.

Our commitment is to explain our reasoning behind future decisions and to make sure you understand where we stand on your feedback. We want you to see more of the big picture of where we’re going and incorporate more of what we’re already hearing to ensure that our work is meaningful to you.  

We’ll start this process ahead of the launch of our next update. You’ll read about it here on our website when we start these conversations, and if you’re already following Battlefield across social media, you won’t miss it when we do.

LOOKING AHEAD TO SEASON ONE

When Season One arrives in early Summer, it will mark the start of a year where we’ll deliver four Seasons, four new Specialists, and new locations along with more completely new content. We know that this release is later than anticipated for many of you who purchased the Year 1 Pass as part of the Gold and Ultimate Editions. To acknowledge and thank you for your patience and continued support, those players will receive an exclusive bundle containing a Specialist skin, weapon and vehicle skins, a melee weapon and Player Card, all to be delivered in the next update.

Battlefield 2042 includes 3 distinct multiplayer experiences:

  • All-Out Warfare - the next generation of fan-favorite modes Conquest and Breakthrough, featuring the largest maps ever for the franchise and for the first time, up to 128 players (on XSX, PS5 and PC). Experience the intensity of All-Out Warfare in large-scale battles like never before on maps filled with dynamic weather, dangerous environmental hazards and spectacular world events that see tornadoes rip across the map and sandstorms block out the sun.
  • Hazard Zone - an all-new, high-stakes, squad-based game-type for the Battlefield franchise that is a modern take on the multiplayer experience that is distinctly DICE but very different from All-Out Warfare’s Conquest or Breakthrough modes.
  • Portal Mode - A first for the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield Portal is a community-driven platform designed to offer a huge variety of imaginative experiences by giving players the tools to set their own rules and build their own definitive Battlefield experience - and share them with other people.

All Out Warfare launches with seven maps total. Let’s take a quick tour of those:

  • Kaleidoscope [Sogdo, South Korea] This cityscape features dense roadways and skyscrapers that can be explored, or if you’ve a wingsuit, leapt off. It’s here that a tornado that dwarves the glittering buildings will make its presence known.
  • Manifest [Brani Island, Singapore] Supply lines are under threat in this key location for global trade.
  • Orbital [Kourou, French Guiana] Players will battle in the shadow of a towering space rocket pad that’s counting down to an imminent launch. 
  • Discarded [Alang, India] Clash around, through and on top of massive ship hulks and the surrounding cranes.
  • Renewal [Eastern Desert, Egypt] Wrestle for control of an agriculture technology centre in the Egyptian Desert.
  • Hourglass [Doha, Qatar] An approaching sandstorm will shift the tide of war taking place at the heart of a city.
  • Breakaway [Queen Maud Land, Antarctica] From hot deserts to icy landscapes: oil and gas are the key resources being fought over here. Insert on the mountaintops with a wingsuit and you can dive into industrial buildings below.

Post launch, Battlefield 2042’s first year promises four seasons of content, bringing with them four new Specialists plus new locations. Each season is marked by a new Battle Pass. EA confirms that new locations will be accessible to all players.

Battlefield 2042 is available for Xbox One, PS4, PC ($59.99), for Xbox Series X|S and PS5 ($69.99).


More articles about Battlefield 2042
blog comments powered by Disqus