If I even utter the word Battlefield, the chances are it will give you mixed thoughts and emotions. If you’re like me you’ll have fond memories of an incredible series of games but now an immediate resentment of what the brand has become. This is because the formula has strayed away from what made the games great and the community feels mistreated and not listened to. In this article I’m going to be covering the timeline of the last 7-8 years in the franchise and whether DICE and EA could revive Battlefield 2042.

A Loved Brand Gone Down The Pan?

Battlefield is in my blood as a gamer. I’ve grown up being blown away by experiences like Battlefield Vietnam on PC, consuming thousands of hours into the modern era iterations of 2,3 and 4 and even having huge admiration for the witty and clever Bad Company titles. 2016 was a year where DICE unleashed the last classic in the series when it delved back into World War I with Battlefield 1. It took the charts by storm and was a successful instalment that still holds up. Sadly though, the incredible Titanfall 2 was brushed to one side in a terrible decision by EA to release both of these in the same week in a congested window.

With the release of Battlefield V a year later, things started to go down a rocky path. The direction things have taken begs many questions. Are DICE under pressure from EA to get these projects out? Are the development teams trying to do too much? The truth is, no one really knows the logistics of what is going on behind the scenes. What we do know is that Battlefield has had immeasurable reputation damage. 

Let’s Take A Walk Down That Rocky Road

The cracks started to show after the launch of Battlefield V in my eyes. Whilst it took the natural path into World War II from BF1, there was a distinct lack of communication and support for that project. The game felt barebones at launch and lacked content. Whilst BFV did receive beautifully designed maps later on in the mechanics we all know and love, they came a little too late for most and the player base had moved on.

DICE also chanced their hand at cracking the battle royale scene with Firestorm. This seemingly dropped like a lead balloon amongst an already congested genre that already had several successful free-to-enter BR titles. The sad shame is that Battlefield V was actually a solid entry when they laid down their weapons and pulled the plug on support for the game. Hardcore players still felt that more could have been bought to the table. DICE needed to move on though, swiftly to their next construction with Battlefield 2042.

The Road To Battlefield 2042

There was intense hype surrounding Battlefield 2042 in the run-up to the launch of the game. The community had several reasons to be excited and rightly so. Fans of the series finally had the vision of the game returning to the modern era to hopefully nestle between the hugely successful Battlefield 3 & 4. Not only this but the promise of 128-player battles, old classic maps returning and an all-new survival mode titled Hazard Zone. When the first trailer dropped in June 2021, the community erupted and the anticipation became almost unbearable for people looking through the window. It didn’t give away much but seeing wingsuits, elevation in interior lifts, tornadoes and vast open maps gave gamers a small glimpse and hope that Battlefield would become the best in class once again.

Preview events then started appearing with Battlefield Portal being shown off. The enthusiasm the development teams presented in showcasing this mode showed real promise. Seeing this for the first time was a dream come true for dedicated fans of the series. A playground with maps that we all played to death and loved with original weaponry and factions from those eras. Bring with that the base game of BF2042 and Hazard zone, the amount of content was meaty!

BETA & Delays

The first suspicion that the team working on this project was biting off more than they could chew was when we heard Need For Speed had been pushed back. Production of the popular racer had been halted to allow members of Criterion Games to come in and assist with the development of BF2042. Alongside DICE there was also Ripple Effect Studios and EA Gothenburg integrated into the team to make it the biggest development team ever to work on a Battlefield game. At the back end of Summer 2021, we finally got to go hands-on with the BETA demo of the game which received negative reception across the board. Plagued with bugs, terrible UI and features that simply didn’t function. This should have sent alarm bells ringing and it did for some, but people still believed.

The End Of The Road

After a small delay announcement to add further polish to the game, we finally saw the launch in November 2021. Personally, I’d been planning on this moment for months and actually booked annual leave from my day job to get some good and proper hours in with it. Turns out this was a choice I immediately regretted, as to my horror Battlefield 2042 was far from a complete game, an unplayable mess and quite frankly upsetting.

This game didn’t just have a few bugs here and there, it was absolutely riddled. The core game had matchmaking issues, a terrible UI that just looked awful and missing features that Battlefield players are used to. No scoreboard to check how you and your team are performing, no way to call for a medic to come and revive you. If I reported on everything that was wrong here, it would be a huge list. Without the issues in mind, you had the biggest maps the series has ever seen but with barren and empty areas galore. Hovercrafts that could drive up the side of skyscrapers, helicopters that appeared indestructible and tanks that could zoom past at the pace of high-speed cars. That said, it was the third highest-selling game on launch week behind the Pokemon titles, but it wasn’t long until people wanted their money back.

Give Me My Money Back!

In the opening week, the Steam figures showed over 100,000 concurrent steam players, but these numbers fell sharply in a short period of time. Within two weeks the game on PC had already lost 70% of its player base and even Farming Simulator 22 had more players. Player criticism came in hard and fast with people demanding a refund with complaints that the game was incomplete. I have to say I absolutely agree with them that the overall experience was a terrible state and the communication from the teams was absolutely piss poor.

With work to fix the issues eventually put into motion, there was never a clear and concise timeframe in place to get the game into a playable state. A petition was compiled with the overall message being that people who purchased the game should receive a full refund if they didn’t intend to continue playing, this amassed over 200,000 signatures. Doesn’t sound like a lot when millions paid in, but that is still a big number.

The bad news just kept coming for those who had spent their hard-earned cash with season one suffering delays of six months! This meant no additional content, no battle pass system that some people had paid upfront for and just silence about what the plans were. Bring with this the kick in the teeth when the poor release was blamed on remote working within COVID guidelines and even Halo Infinite’s launch was blamed for its shortcomings.

A Chance To Win Players Back

202 days after the official launch of Battlefield 2042 was a lifeline to attempt to win players back. When you consider most games that have battle pass systems have a three-month window before the next one launches, 28 weeks is inexcusable. Especially when it is rumoured that 3000+ people were working on this game. For me, this new season titled Zero Hour led to even more disappointment due to the lack of content involved. One map, one specialist and a couple of weapons and new helicopter models along with some paid-for cosmetics. Now, whilst the new map Exposure is incredible and what the game had been craving, it just isn’t good enough.

This first season is slated to last around 12 weeks and map reworks have been promised at the back end of summer to some of the existing maps after complaints of them being too open. With these coming after the best part of a year, again, it just is unacceptable in my opinion. In some of my previous comments leading up to this new wave of slim pickings in terms of content, I stated that the game should have been made free to play for all and players who purchased the game should have received the first battle pass free of charge.

Making the game free to play would refill the servers and give this failed game a new lease of life with an opportunity of retaining players. Making the battle pass free to investors of this failed game would bring gamers who ditched the game back for a second crack and a chance of forgiveness.

What Is The Future Of Battlefield?

So where does the future of Battlefield lie? For me, I have lost total confidence in ever buying into the series ever again until it is proven that it is a fully functional game from the beginning. I feel it is too little too late for Battlefield 2042 to ever be revived to something that has a consistently large player base. The only possibility of this ever happening in my opinion is once all current maps have been reworked and there is some consistently great content arriving for the game. I still feel the gates need to be opened on making this a free-to-play title or at least part of the EA Play catalogue. This will obviously upset the fans who bought the game, but these people are already extremely annoyed and frustrated and without them getting refunds, the damage is done.

Final Thoughts

The Battlefield brand has been tainted and in my opinion, suffered an amount of irreparable damage. With the rumours of a Battlefield campaign title in the works and the next game in the series currently in development it already tells me that they are ready to move on. Huge lessons need to be learned from this moment in gaming history. Publishers need to allow breathing room for development teams to only launch a product when it is absolutely finished and ready.

More public testing in huge multiplayer games perhaps needs to be conducted prior to launch. Is it time for games with battle pass systems and paid-for cosmetics to be fully free to play to avoid the backlash when things go wrong? I truly think so! I’m not hopeful for the future of the Battlefield image unless huge drastic changes are made, the identity has been lost, the reputation is soiled and fans are left with a sour taste. My wish is to see another true great in the lineup, but if it ever happens, we will be waiting a long time.