Battlefield 2042 Xbox Playstation PC Gaming

[David76]

EA has said that Battlefield 6 "takes full advantage of the power of next-generation platforms", and that the game is on track for an early 2021 reveal and holiday release (between September-December 2021).

EA CEO Andrew Wilson shared more details about Battlefield 6 in an earnings call with investors. Wilson said that Battlefield 6 will tap into the horsepower of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, which should "bring massive and immersive battles to life with more players than ever".

Wilson also added that Battlefield 6 will feature maps "with unprecedented scale" and that "the next vision of Battlefield takes all the destruction, player agency, and vehicle and weapon combat that the franchise is known for and elevates it to another level."

Battlefield 6 has been tipped for a holiday 2021 release date, and it appears that will be the case. Battlefield tends to release between September and November of each year, and Wilson confirmed the game will arrive in the holiday season.

"We will reveal the game in the spring and deliver the defining Battlefield experience for our players in the 2021 holiday season," Wilson said.

Wargames​

While Battlefield is still one of the biggest games of the year, it's fair to say that the latest iteration, Battlefield 5, didn't quite resonate as strongly with the game's player base as previous titles.

Much like Call of Duty, there's always a back and forth over the direction and setting of each title, with some players preferring a more military-focused game, while others would like to see a more modern, futuristic depiction.

For those in the more traditional camp, Wilson has said the next Battlefield game will "mark a return to all-out military warfare", which should please the purists.

 

[Tom]

One of the earliest revelations the developer made at the event was confirming that Battlefield 2042 will not have a traditional single-player campaign. The game is instead going to infuse narrative into its various multiplayer modes.

Strange move, all right. There was some beautiful missions with epic moment like the Jet mission, Shanghai and basically all of BF1. Would have thought that a short singleplayer campaign wouldn't be too resource intensive compared to multi-player.

 

[David76]

A look at Battlefield 2042 gameplay was shown during the Xbox + Betsheda E3 2021 showcase, as promised.




As promised, DICE brought the first-ever look at Battlefield 2042 multiplayer gameplay to the Microsoft stage, as part of the Xbox Bethesda Games E3 2021 Showcase.

The video features a look at 128-player multiplayer on the new Conquest, captured from a variety of the game's massive maps (but mostly Hourglass). This isn't some stylised selection of scenes, either, we're looking at direct gameplay capture for the most part, with the HUD and the rest of the UI visible.

The perspective changes all throughout to demonstrate Battlefield 2042's different gameplay mechanics. There's a look at a couple of the No-Pat Specialists, including Webster Mackay's grappling hook, the wingsuits, and a glimpse of Maria Falck's Syrette Pistol.

A few seconds of vehicle gameplay are there, too, offering a look at the helicopter, tank, and transport vehicles. The impressive new weather effects are on full display. Hourglass' sandstorm, in particular, slowly rolls in and covers the map in dust, not to mention tear apart infantry and vehicles as it tosses them around.

 

[Tom]

Cautiously optimistic after the gameplay trailer now also.

Looks like some really interesting things going on with the dynamic weather (which will knock snipers the most and planes/helicopters).

Loving that they do seem to be trying to find a balance between vehicles and infantry.

Honestly, I can't wait to see more, lets hope they deliver and live up to the hype.

 

[David76]

Game developers at Electronic Arts recently released a brand-new announcement (see bellow). An earlier announcement in June already left a lot for fans of the combat-based game to get excited about, and now, EA has disclosed even more news about Battlefield 2042 for fans to unpack.

Battlefield Briefing: Answering Your Reveal Questions

Battlefield Briefing: Answering Your Reveal Questions. A closer look at the questions you’ve asked us since Battlefield 2042’s reveal.

www.ea.com

One of the largest sections of EA's new announcement was dedicated to more information on Specialists, a new type of playable soldier coming to Battlefield 2042. As EA describes, each new Specialist, of which there will be ten, will have a unique set of Specialities and Traits that have different in-game functions. Some of the Specialists which have been revealed so far, for example, will have better healing capabilities or increased flight mobility. Alongside these new Specialists, EA has also confirmed that player loadout will no longer be class-specific, meaning players will have more customization options in-game for whichever character they chose to take on.

Other new features discussed within EA's announcement are vehicle updates coming to Battlefield 2042, which reveals that vehicles will be easier to access and allow for more focus on squads than in previous versions of the game. Battlefield 2042 will also include a new AI Soldiers feature, allowing for a more realistic solo play mode and for easier lobbying when trying to get into larger games.

Another major section of the announcement talked about the new maps coming to Battlefield 2042. EA has confirmed that seven new maps will be coming to the game, saying that the upcoming maps will be the most impressive in the franchise yet.

However, there are some downsides to epic game maps, such as the ones Battlefield 2042 plans to bring to the table. EA has already mentioned some differences between the last-gen and next-gen consoles on which Battlefield 2042 will be released, and battle maps are one of these differences. As EA has explained, the last-gen consoles, including the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, will have a smaller player lobby, capping at 64 players, and have smaller maps in order to optimize gameplay. Next-gen consoles and PC, on the other hand, will cap at a 128-player lobby and be able to run maps at their full capacities.

Other than these changes, however, EA has assured that the game will run the same on either generation, with Vehicles, Dynamic Weather, Specialists, and other features being available on both console generations.

Another notable difference between the two console generations is the cross-play capabilities. As of now, EA has stated that cross-play will be exclusive to either console generation, meaning that cross-play will not be available between console generations. While this may come as a disappointment to some, EA will be beta-testing their cross-play capabilities later this summer, so news about cross-play may change soon.

And speaking of beta-testing, the Technical Playtest for Battlefield 2042 will begin later this summer! Unfortunately, however, it is not an event players can sign up for. EA has confirmed that the Technical Playtest will be a small, exclusive group of individuals selected by the game developers personally. If you want a chance to be selected, make sure to update your EA Playtesting profile!

As is slowly being revealed, Battlefield 2042 will bring many new and exciting changes to the popular franchise be sure to tune in to EA Play Live on July 22nd for more updates on Battlefield 2042!

 

[David76]

DICE has helpfully narrowed down the timing of Battlefield 2042's upcoming beta.

At EA Play Live, the developer confirmed that Battlefield 2042's open beta will take place sometime in September. While this may not be the solid date we were hoping for, it's still good news. As previously revealed, players who pre-order a copy of Battlefield 2042 will get early access to the beta, before it goes open a few days later.

The full schedule has yet to be revealed, of course, but we're probably looking at a mid-week launch for pre-order players, followed by an open beta on the weekend – if we had to guess.

Before the beta, a closed alpha (tech test) will take place later this summer. That test also does not yet have a set date, and DICE will only invite a few thousand players directly to this one. We do know, however, that it will feature the first iteration of cross-play, which is part of why it got moved back.

Battlefield Portal has been officially revealed as the second major experience in Battlefield 2042.

When Battlefield 2042 was initially announced, DICE said the launch package will include what are essentially three games. We were previously introduced to All-Out Warfare, and at EA Play Live, Battlefield Portal was unveiled.




Battlefield Portal is the DICE LA (now Ripple Effect Studios)-developed experience, which the developer previously teased would bring back classic Battlefield maps. Well, it turns out it's much more ambitious than that. VG247 attended a hands-off preview event where we got to see Portal in action, learn about what inspired its creation, and the team's plans for the future.

You can think of Battlefield Portal as a Halo Forge-style experience that encompasses a creation tool, called Battlefield Builder, the ability to share your work, and a browser that lets you find experiences made by DICE and fellow community members. At launch, Builder will have access to every piece of content from Battlefield 2042's sandbox – weapons, vehicles, specialists, etc. You'll also find some content from Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3 – remade in BF2042's engine.

Weapons, gadgets, soldier kits, vehicles and more from those games have been rebuilt using the latest version of Frostbite, with support for up to 4K 60fps on new PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Ripple Effect chose two maps from each game that represent specific experiences. The list is made up of:

• Battlefield 1942's Battle of the Bulge, and El Alamein.
• Bad Company 2's Arica Harbor, and Valparaiso.
• Battlefield 3's Caspian Border, and Noshahr Canals.

All maps have received significant visual upgrades, while keeping with their original aesthetics as much as possible. More interestingly, the maps have been upgraded to overcome technical limitations of their time. BF1942's maps, for instance, will support destruction for the first time, something the old Refractor engine did not allow for.

Ripple Effect also created different versions of these maps to support up to 128 players, and to allow for Battlefield 2042's game-changing weather conditions. If you like, you can use the old player counts and classic rules. You can also use classic weapon tuning and vehicle balance, and even turn off things like prone for the more authentic Bad Company 2 experience – all in Builder.

Battlefield Builder gives you the tools to create virtually any idea you might have, including mixing content from all four games. You can pit a team of BF1942 Germans against BF3 Russians, with each side using their own weapons, gadgets and vehicles. You can limit weapons to knifes and defibrillators only. You can cram 128 players in the classic Rush variant of BC2 maps designed for 24 players.

While you won't be able to create or modify maps, the existing toolset gives you control over a massive number of variables. Modders, and people with some programming experience, will also appreciate Builder's logic editor, a visual scripting tool that can be used to make more advanced tweaks not covered by the standard options. Even if you're not into creating mods yourself, you'll have access to number of classic experiences at launch – think of it as a mini-remake of those games. Once enough creators start publishing their work, DICE and Ripple Effect will feature select mods for everyone to play.

The ambitious Battlefield Portal will be available at Battlefield 2042's launch on October 22.

 

[Tom]

Here's what you'll need to run it on PC

Minimum specs​

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor: AMD FX-8350 or Intel Core i5 6600K
• Memory: 8GB
• Video Memory: 4GB
• Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 560 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
• DirectX: 12
• Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection

Recommended specs​

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7 4790
• Memory: 16GB
• Video Memory: 8GB
• Graphics card AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT or Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
• DirectX: 12
• Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection

 

[Tom]

Battlefield 2042 won't make its intended release date. Developer DICE announced Wednesday that the game has been delayed until Nov. 19, nearly a month after its originally planned release date of Oct. 22.

In a statement released on Twitter, DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson explained that the delay was largely due to the challenges of working from home during the pandemic.

"Building the next generation of Battlefield during a global pandemic has created unforeseen challenges for our development teams," Gabrielson said in a statement also attributed to the Battlefield 2042 development team. "Given the scale and scope of the game, we had hoped our team would be back in our studios together as we move towards launch. With the ongoing conditions not allowing that to happen safely, and with all the hard work the teams are doing from home, we feel it is important to take the extra time to deliver on the vision of Battlefield 2042 for our players."

While news of the delay may be disappointing for all involved, Gabrielson also said that DICE will have more information on the game's open beta sometime later this month.

 

[David76]

The Battlefield 2042 beta takes place October 6-9. Players who pre-ordered the game, and EA Play members, will have the beta all to themselves on October 6 and 7. The beta opens up to everyone else October 8, and ends the following day.




Pre-loading will be available on all platforms, for all players, beginning October 5 at 12am PT, 3am ET, 8am UK. The beta itself begins at those same times. The Battlefield 2042 beta will be available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

 

[David76]

DICE also published a list of PC requirements for the beta.

Battlefield 2042 beta minimum PC specs​

• CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K, AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
• RAM: 8GB.
• VRAM: 4GB.
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, AMD Radeon RX 560.
• DirectX: 12.
• Hard-drive space: 100GB.

Battlefield 2042 beta recommended PC specs​

• CPU: Intel Core i7 4790, AMD Ryzen 7 2700X.
• RAM: 16GB.
• VRAM: 8GB.
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060,AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT.
• DirectX: 12.
• Hard-drive space: 100GB SSD.

 

[David76]

DICE looks to be taking the health of the Battlefield 2042 community very seriously. Today, the developer outlined a number of initiatives designed to keep the game's community welcoming, as well as several key ways to counter cheaters and abusers.

For starters, Battlefield 2042 will be relying on the popular Easy-Anti Cheat (EAC) service to detect and ban cheaters. EAC is being used by Apex Legends and many other online games. Easy-Anti Cheat will be active during the upcoming beta, too.

DICE confirmed that it has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to cheating, meaning cheaters will be permanently banned immediately without warning or suspension. Because Battlefield 2042 supports cross-play, getting banned from one platform means you won't be able to play the game on any of them.

Bans could arrive suddenly and will cause the cheater to be disconnected from the game. Banned players can later appeal their sanctions using EA Help support. The developer also has the tools to IP and hardware-ban where necessary, which should deter repeat offenders.

The even better news is that Battlefield 2042 will tell you when the enforcement team receives your report, and when action has been taken against the cheater. DICE said anti-cheat is something that it will continue to work on post-launch, adding that there's a team dedicated to investigating reports and issuing bans.

Battlefield 2042 will be launching with a fairly well-featured reporting system, allowing all players to report a wide range of disruptive and undesirable behaviour straight from the game. You can report players for cheating/exploiting, offensive voice/text chat, inappropriate names, harassment, and even "gameplay sabotage."

Battlefield 2042 will also let you turn off voice and text chat, whether individually or for the entire team. You can even block players, which will prevent them from being able to message or voice chat with you.