However, the game ultimately failed to deliver for both fans and EA. The title has been referred to internally “as a miss,” but work to make things right for players is still ongoing. Despite the poor numbers that Battlefield 2042 has generated, there is a new Battlefield title in active development, and EA is providing the resources needed to bring back the franchise. Although the next Battlefield game is in its pre-production stage, one inside source has said that “valuable lessons” have been learned following the release of Battlefield 2042. “I think we’ll be reverting a lot of the changes we made in Battlefield 2042”, it was said. It’s too early to comment on specifics of the next game, but this comment could be referring to features such as the 128 player count and the specialists that have received harsh criticism since they were introduced. Original plans for the overall series direction were to have Battlefield 2042 act as a foundation for the future, with the next Battlefield game being built upon it. One former developer who recently left DICE following the launch of Battlefield 2042 had suggested that the next game was almost going to be like a “hero shooter,” with specialists becoming mercenaries. It does seem like this plan may have changed, though, with recent playtest and feedback sessions focusing on the class system in Battlefield 2042. Several people invited to these sessions believe that the changes coming to the specialist system in Battlefield 2024 will tie specialists’ roles to classes more closely, which is a change the community wanted before Battlefield 2042 was even released. It’s a change that is likely to come to the next Battlefield game too, with the plan to get players more invested into their characters. Even though these changes will take time to implement into Battlefield 2042, they also give us a small insight into what the next title may bring. My sources did confirm one thing: the next title is currently slated to have a modern/near-future setting.
The Future of Battlefield 2042
DICE is obligated to release four specialists and four battle passes for Battlefield 2042, and we know that at least one map, named Exposure, will be coming to the game this summer. A large portion of DICE has now moved on to the next title in the series (as is industry standard). However, there’s still a strong and dedicated team working on Battlefield 2042 and its future content, despite concerns from the community that the game has been abandoned. New modes, weapons, vehicles, maps, and more are still coming to Battlefield 2042 and are expected to be delivered throughout its life cycle. In addition, Ripple Effect is working hard to bring new content to Battlefield Portal soon. What’s currently unclear, though, is how the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia will affect Battlefield’s lore and future content. EA has removed Russia from its EA Sports titles in recent weeks. With Battlefield 2042’s game lore based on USA vs. Russia, it isn’t easy to see how that narrative can co-exist with future content, considering current world events. As always, I’ll keep the updates coming as they are brought to me.
