Update: Battlefield 2042 early-access is live but off to a rocky start, at least at the time if writing.
Battlefield 2042 is just one week away — less than 24 hours if you’ve got early access — and developer Dice has now confirmed the final release details for the eagerly anticipated online shooter.
The game’s three core experiences have been fully laid out. All-Out Warfare will be the traditional Battlefield experience players have come to expect, offering fan-favorite modes such as Conquest and Breakthrough on a massive scale thanks to the new 128 player count on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC.
The game’s other two offerings, Battlefield Portal and Hazard Zone, provide something a little different.
Portal is a community-driven platform that allows players to create custom matches that mash together elements from multiple classic Battlefield games. Want historical infantry from Battlefield 1942 to square off against modern-day soldiers from Battlefield 3? That’s possible in Battlefield Portal.
Hazard Zone is a new cooperative mode that tasks you and your squad with extracting data drives while avoiding being eliminated by competing squads. Each player only has one life with no respawns so the stakes are pretty high. It’s not quite a Battle Royale mode, but it definitely has the winner takes all element that has made the sub-genre so popular in recent years.
Most of the information in this final pre-release Battlefield Briefing was already known, but what’s most intriguing is the small section at the bottom entitled “What to expect after launch.” Here Dice has explained its post-launch DLC plans and they sound fairly extensive.
In the game’s first year of release, there will be four seasons, with four corresponding Battle Passes and a new Specialist class coming in each season. More Battlefield Portal content will also be available after release, and Dice has teased new maps saying there might be “some new sights to see.”
The first season of new content is confirmed to start in early 2022, but through the final few weeks of this year, there will be a pre-season period with weekly missions, limited-time modes and plenty of rewards up for grabs.
Battlefield 2042 launches on November 19 on PS5, Xbox Series X and PC, there is also a stripped-down version launching on last-gen consoles. If you can’t wait another week, you can start playing this weekend by pre-ordering the Gold/Ultimate edition or being an EA Play subscriber.
