Battlefield 2042 is having a tough time. Not only did it launch in such a poor state that we named it one of the most disappointing games of 2021, but crucial bug fixes and the game’s first season of new content have now been delayed until the summer.
It seems that some players who stuck with the game through its rocky first two months on the market have now reached a breaking point. A petition demanding that refunds for Battlefield 2042 be allowed on all platforms has exploded in popularity over the past week and now sits at more than 22,500 signatures.
Just six days ago the petition had around 700 supporters, but the latest blow to the rapidly shrinking Battlefield 2042 community has clearly struck a nerve. The petition was created by a user named Satoshi Nakamoto (presumably not that one) and states that “Battlefield 2042 was a mockery of every customer who purchased this video game for $70 (USD) due to EA’s false advertising.”
It continues, “Battlefield 2042 has cost consumers millions of dollars in damages and upset thousands of customers worldwide.” The petition also calls out the server issues the game experienced at launch, as well as the myriad of bugs and glitches that still plague the shooter. Several post-launch patches have been released in an effort to address these technical shortcomings, but clearly, players still aren’t happy.
The petition also claims that should it reach the milestone of 50,000 signatures “one of the best class-action lawsuit lawyers in the country” would be willing to take on a case against EA. No proof has been provided by the petition's creator to substantiate this claim.
Mass refunds for a game are fairly uncommon in the gaming industry. One of the few outliers is Cyberpunk 2077, which was released in 2020 to a storm of criticism due to performance issues and missing features.
The problems were so severe that developer CD Projekt Red, alongside major platform holders Sony, Microsoft and Valve, allowed no-questions-asked refunds for any player not happy with the condition of the game. Fortunately, the game has improved significantly over the past 12 months.
As noted, the Cyberpunk 2077 situation is very much an exception and there’s no guarantee that EA will feel the need to respond to this petition. It’s likely that it will instead hope to quietly ride out the storm. The game’s shrinking player base would also suggest that many players have opted to move on at this point.
EA confirmed in a recent earnings call that the game “did not meet expectations,” but that it was “fully committed to realizing the full potential of [Battlefield 2042].” Developer Dice has already announced that the game’s next significant update is due out next month; perhaps this will go some way to appeasing its unhappy player base.
