The release of Battlefield 2042 has been a complete disaster. Panned by critics and players alike, the game was released missing critical features fans of the series have come to expect and continues to be plagued with bugs and glitches out the wazoo. Gamers have lost all faith in EA and DICE, which is perhaps the most damaging part of the game’s release as a whole: prior to 2042, the development team promised that it would be the Battlefield everyone had always wanted and a “love letter to fans.”
If this is love, we don’t want to see what EA and DICE do when they hate somebody.
According to industry insider Tom Henderson, pre-production has begun on the next installment of the long-running franchise, and DICE has learned “valuable lessons” from the disaster that is 2042. Despite a dwindling playerbase, EA thinks that they can still turn things around with a fresh start.
An inside source claims that devs will be “reverting a lot of the changes made in Battlefield 2042.” While it’s unclear which changes are being referenced here, it may have to do with the poorly-recieved specialists and 128 player count.
According to a former DICE developer who left after the recent 2042 launch, the next game was shaping up to be a “hero shooter,” with specialists being swapped out for mercenaries. This might have changed, however, as fans want a return to the good old days.
The next Battlefield title is currently on track to have a modern/near-future setting.
Updates to 2042 are still planned, with four specialists, four battle passes, new modes, weapons, vehicles, and maps coming in the future. The next map, Exposure, is expected to be released this summer.
Battlefield 2042 was released on November 19, 2021, on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. During a call last month, EA executives finally admitted to the many failures present in the newest series installment. The recent 3.3 update finally added a scoreboard, though many players still find this fundamental feature lacking.