The next Battlefield will reflect on the roots of the series, but it will also be bigger and more open than before. Destructible environments are now thought of as bigger and accommodate a maximum of 128 players at the same time. Alone is no longer an option: Developer DICE is canceling a single player mode.
Every three months a new Battle Pass
You don't have to do without a story for a long time. Instead, the different multiplayer modes are meant to tell stories. There are no details, but the concept sounds like a normal live service structure that tells little stories every “season” and changes the world a bit. This is essentially confirmed by the FAQ. They also reveal that every three months with each new season a new Battle Pass is published, which is a free and paid version.
Since Battlefield has never told particularly exciting solo stories anyway, the loss will be limited. But Battlefield 2042 still has a background: In the near future, the climate crisis will worsen, while raw material shortages and an economic crisis lead to the collapse of many states and large refugee movements. The remaining superpowers are the USA and Russia, which are at war with the help of mercenary armies recruited from refugees.
Specialists come
These mercenaries are called “specialists” in the new Battlefield and each have an active and passive special ability. Basically they are based on Battlefield classes, but are characters like in Rainbow Six Siege. However, equipment and gadgets are not tied to the specialists, but can be chosen completely freely, which allows them to be adapted to different environments on an ad hoc basis. Gun accessories can also be changed in the middle of a battle. Fighting takes place on huge maps on which events such as sandstorms or tornadoes change the battlefield. Vehicles can also be summoned in order to be able to cover distances quickly.
You can play in three modes. All-Out Warfare is based on the conquest and breakthrough mode, while Hazard Zone is supposed to let small squads fight – DICE does not reveal details. The third game mode is still completely unknown. It is not supposed to be about Battle Royale, but possibly the free-to-play component that will come according to previous rumors. This mode will be presented on July 22nd at an EA Play event.
Old consoles can do less
EA plans to release Battlefield 2042 for the October 22nd for PC via Origin, Steam and the Epic Games Store. It can also be played on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, although the game here costs ten euros more than the version that is also available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The version for the old consoles is not complete: On consoles of the old generation, the map size and number of players are limited, a maximum of 64 soldiers can fight against each other.