Those who missed the beta for Battlefield 2042 are still getting to play the game early. Those with EA Play or Xbox Game Pass are able to try to game for 10 hours starting today, November 12, and those who pre-ordered the Gold or Ultimate editions of the game are able to play the full game starting today as well, thanks to the early access perk. Sure, there’s plenty going on to be happy about, but one huge issue is causing some fans to speak out across social media: the lack of a decent scoreboard. Reddit has been completely swarmed with threads complaining about this matter, and it will be interesting to see if EA issues any statement prior to the game’s full release next week. The scoreboard has been updated since both the beta and alpha, but not much has changed. Maybe this will tip the scales.
To be fair, the game does have a scoreboard. The problem is its lack of useability and important information–it’s an unusual design that focuses on individual performance but lacks any mention of how players stack up against others on the team or the server. The panel lists the top squads and a general match score for both teams, but there’s no way to see how you’re stacking up against the rest. One Reddit user started the hashtag #BRINGBACKSCOREBOARD and left a rather compelling argument. “No matter how great the game is, it’s meaningless without a scoreboard or even something as simple as a KD Counter in the game,” he says. “What’s the point in playing? How are you supposed to tell if you’re doing good in the game compared to others?”
EA/DICE has recently commented on the title’s lack of in-game voice chat as well, explaining that research shows that most people use applications such as Discord or Xbox and PlayStation chat to communicate with others. Despite this, the feature is planned to be added sometime after launch.
Battlefield 2042 is scheduled to be released on November 19, 2021, on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Those buying the digital standard edition of Battlefield 2042 on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One will be eligible for a free new-gen upgrade.