EA finally announced the next Battlefield, which despite many leaks received a laconic name Battlefield 2042 – it simultaneously refers to the first part (1942) and the futuristic experiment (2142).
This time, Swedish developers from DICE decided to abandon the traditional story campaign, focusing all efforts on the multiplayer mode – although the classic battles with bots will return to the series.
It’s 2042 – the United States and Russia are on the brink of war due to a lack of resources on the planet. Players will have to take control of mercenaries who can act on the side of both the Americans and the Russians. This time, DICE also dropped the specialist polka classes.
They resemble in many ways the heroes from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and four – gameplay for the most part they are similar, but each has unique features (they are partially related to classes). At the exit, there will be 10 of them, but so far only four are known.
Have stormtrooper Webster McKay has a cat hook and runs fast medic Maria Falk treats allies with a special pistol, engineer Pyotr Guskovsky installs turrets, and scout Vicus Van Diel marks enemies with a special drone.
During the first year, the developers will add four more operatives – one fighter within each season, each of which will last three months. The shooter will have extensive support, and the publisher promises to provide a detailed map of updates for the whole year ahead of its release on October 22nd.
But the biggest changes concern the maps – they will noticeably grow in scale, become “more dynamic” and much more detailed. Perhaps that is why there will be only seven of them at the start of sales.
In addition, DICE has added natural disasters that are expected both global and local. They will not happen in scripts, but dynamically, so that each match feels completely different. Some battles will do without cataclysms at all.
At the same time, there are three types of modes:
- “Total war“- this is the updated” Capture “and” Breakthrough “with cataclysms and support for up to 128 players (only on PS5, Xbox Series and PC – on PS4 and Xbox One up to 64 players)
- “Dangerous area“- This is a more tactical mode with a stake on the close work of units. More about it later.
- Unknown mode – done by DICE LA. It should please the veterans of the series, although in itself it is completely unique. The mode will be presented on July 22 at EA Play.
The classic “Capture” will especially change due to the scale of the maps, since now the capture zones are divided into sectors, inside which there are several flags.
Customization will become more flexible – for example, it will be possible to change attachments on weapons right in the middle of the field. Pressing a dedicated button will open an interactive menu in the spirit of Crysis, where you can change the scope, barrel, magazine and other gadgets.
Screenshot from Crysis for clarity
Now there are 3 editions available for the shooter – standard, gold and ultimate. The latter two give not only early access to the full version of the game for a whole week, but also a subscription for the first year. For the most part, it provides a paid Battle Pass for four seasons of the first year of support.
A little about monetization: players will receive new cards for free as part of seasonal updates, and the Battle Pass will have two progress lines – free for all players and paid. Pretty standard practice, in general.
Versions for the new generation consoles, however, are more expensive (but in the PS Store around the world, the PS5 version is now sold at the same price as for the PS4 – 4,899 rubles). On the Xbox, the One costs $ 60 and the Series $ 70. Both versions are included in the gold edition.
On PC (Steam, Origin, Epic Games Store), the basic edition is sold for 3499 rubles.
Pre-order bonuses – most will probably be interested in early access to the open beta, which will take place shortly before the release.
Battlefield 2042 launches October 22 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC. In early July, select veterans of the series will receive letters of happiness inviting them to participate in the alpha, while the rest will have to wait for open testing in the fall.
EA Play subscribers will have access to the Battlefield 2042 10-hour trial starting October 15.
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