Is Battlefield 2042 Being Abandoned?
As a long-time Battlefield gamer and content creator, I‘ve been following Battlefield 2042‘s journey closely since its controversial launch in November 2021. Player counts have dropped sharply, there‘s been criticism of missing features and tons of bugs. Many fans have wondered – is EA already abandoning ship on BF2042?
I‘m here to provide a detailed breakdown based on the facts. Despite its rocky start, 2042 is showing signs of a turnaround thanks to EA‘s steady stream of updates over the past year. They have plenty of room for improvement, but their actions clearly show a continued commitment to BF2042‘s future.
The Ugly Beginning: What Went Wrong at Launch
Battlefield 2042 shocked a lot of us gamers when it launched last November. As someone who put thousands of hours into the older Battlefield games, I was initially pumped for its release but ended up sorely disappointed.
Specific issues at launch included:
- Removal of All-Out Warfare features like classes, the scoresboard and VoIP
- Limited weapons, vehicles, maps and game modes
- Rampant visibility, balancing and gameplay bugs
- Game crashes and performance problems on PC
These forms of negative community feedback were reflected in BF2042‘s dismal review scores across gaming sites:
| Site | Score |
|---|---|
| IGN | 4/10 |
| GameSpot | 5/10 |
| Metacritic | 2.3 User Score |
The result was lower than expected sales and a massive drop in Battlefield 2042‘s active player population after launch week. As a live service game, having a healthy player base is crucial to funding ongoing development via battle pass sales and microtransactions.
Within 3 months, Battlefield 2042 hit startling new lows – dipping below an average 1,000 concurrent players on Steam in February 2022. At times, there were actually more people playing 4 year old Battlefield V!
The Updates Roll In: Improvements and Added Content in 2022
Given the state of affairs post-launch, many players began speculating that EA had essentially abandoned Battlefield 2042. But to their credit, I watched EA and DICE roll out update after update in 2022 – slowly improving 2042 with each season.
As someone whocontinued dipping back into the game, I noticed significant positive changes:
- New maps and map reworks. My favorite is the improved Kaleidoscope set in S3.
- Over a dozen new weapons adding fresh gameplay variety
- Balancing tweaks in line with player feedback
- Overall better stability and bug fixes
- Major features rebuilt like classes and VoIP
Check out this snapshot of the big Season 3.3 patch in September 2022 – now THAT felt like classic Battlefield again with classes and squad play back in action.
DICE‘s extensive notes and tweaks over 2022 showcase their hands-on approach to improving BF2042. Even as player counts remained lower than BF3/4/1 glory days, the game itself markedly improved post-launch.
What Does The Future Hold in 2024 and Beyond?
While naysayers may have declared Battlefield 2042 a lost cause early on, EA indicated their long-term plans in a July 2022 EA earnings call:
"We have heard the feedback from our community, and are focused on delivering a modern Battlefield experience that both long-term players and new players alike will love. We will continue improving the Battlefield 2042 experience while best positioning the franchise for the future."
They followed through on this commitment with the official Battlefield 2042 Season 5 announcement in January 2023.
This shows they are still actively investing time and resources into 2042‘s future. As an optimistic Battlefield fan, I hope Season 5 brings fan-requested changes like:
- Expanding Portal mode with classic BF3 maps
- Introducing more environmental destruction
- Rolling out Battlefield Hub to unify the community
Only time will tell how player counts and sentiment trends in 2024. But I firmly believe the reports claiming EA outright abandoned BF2042 were premature knee-jerk reactions. Their extensive 2022 updates kept the game on life support – and now Season 5 shows 2042‘s pulse is still going steady into 2023.
I‘m eager to drop back into the Battlefield once the new content arrives later this year!
