Battlefield 2042 is the latest game in the first-person shooter franchise by Electronic Arts (EA). The new multiplayer game is the first title in the franchise that supports crossplay. However, players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can only play each other, and not with other platforms. This is the first time a Battlefield title doesn’t have a single-player mode. Players do have the option to play offline but there is no campaign or story mode.
The latest Battlefield title lets 128 players destroy their surroundings and create chaos in a 30-minute all-out war. Players were able to experience the game early through the open beta version that was released in early October 6. EA Play subscribers have had a chance to try out the game for a limited period, and players who have purchased the Gold and Ultimate editions gained early access to the game on November 12.
Battlefield 2042, developed by EA DICE, is available for all players on Origin, Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S/ Series X, and Xbox One.
With that, here’s all you need to know about Battlefield 2042, from when it’s out for everyone, how much it costs, what your PC rig needs, and what the critics are saying.
Battlefield 2042 release date
Battlefield 2042 is set to release on Friday, November 19. It wasn’t supposed to. Originally, it was scheduled for October 22 — however, it has had almost a month-long delay in getting launched owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Building the next generation of Battlefield during a global pandemic has created unforeseen challenges for our development teams,” EA DICE CEO Oskar Gabrielson said.
While Battlefield 2042 arrives for everyone on Friday, it has been available to EA Play subscribers since last Friday, November 12. However, their exposure to the game is limited to only 10 hours. EA’s subscription service is available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. It is priced at Rs. 315 per month, while the yearly subscription costs Rs. 1,990.
If you want to experience the game completely, you will need a subscription to EA Play Pro that is exclusive to PC. EA Play Pro is priced at Rs. 999 per month, with the yearly subscription costing Rs. 6,499.
Battlefield 2042 lets players use a handful of vehicles during combat
Photo Credit: EA Dice
Battlefield 2042 PC system requirements
EA Dice has listed the minimum and recommended specifications requirements for PC players.
Battlefield 2042 minimum PC requirements
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600/ Intel Core i5 6600K
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX560/ Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti
- RAM: 8GB
- VRAM: 4GB
Battlefield 2042 recommended PC requirements
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X/ Intel Core i7 4790
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT/ Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
- RAM: 16GB
- VRAM: 8GB
In addition, players would need a minimum of 100GB of free space on their hard drives with their PCs running on 64-bit Windows 10 with DirectX 12. There is no information if Battlefield 2042 is supported on Windows 11, but you would expect it to be.
Battlefield 2042 editions
Battlefield 2042 has three editions — Standard, Gold, and Ultimate. The following benefits are available for players who pre-order the game.
The Standard Edition players would get Irish – Battle hardened legendary skin, Baku ACB-90 Epic melee takedown knife, “Mr. Chompy” Epic weapon charm, and “Landfall” player card background and “Old Guard” tag.
Gold Edition players would get Year 1 Pass with four new specialists, four Battle Passes, and three Epic skin bundles over and above the Standard Edition.
Similarly, Ultimate Edition players would get Midnight Ultimate bundle, official digital artbook, and exclusive digital soundtrack along with all the Gold Edition perks.
Battlefield 2042 price
If you can’t/ won’t go down the EA Play Pro route, Battlefield 2042’s Standard Edition is priced at Rs. 2,999 on Origin, Steam, and Epic Games (for PC). The Gold Edition is priced at Rs. 4,799, while the Ultimate Edition is priced at Rs. 5,999.
Battlefield 2042 players can play as four characters
Photo Credit: EA Dice
On PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the Standard Edition is priced at Rs. 3,999, while the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X version is priced at Rs. 4,499. The Gold and Ultimate Editions are priced at Rs. 6,499 and Rs. 8,499, respectively.
Battlefield 2042 size
On the Xbox One S, the game has a download size of 27.9GB. Battlefield 2042 size is around 33GB on Xbox One X. And on the next-gen Series X, you are looking at a 51GB download or so. As per our testing, on PC it has a download size of 49GB but could later expand to 100GB as the developers have mentioned the latter on their website.
Pre-load for Battlefield 2042 has been available for a while now.
Battlefield 2042 gameplay
Players can experience three modes in Battlefield 2042: All-Out Warfare, Battlefield Portal, and Battlefield Hazard Zone. The All-Out Warfare mode contains two sub-modes — Conquest and Breakthrough — and features dynamic weather. Battlefield Portal lets players experience Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3. Players also have the option to use their arsenal from Battlefield 2042 in the above three games. The Hazard Zone mode teams up four players who must locate crucial data drives while fighting the opposition.
Additionally, EA has incorporated seven maps that include Hourglass based in Doha, Qatar, Discarded based in Alang, India, Manifest based in Brani Island, Singapore, Kaleidoscope based in Songdo, South Korea, Orbital based in Kourou, French Guiana, Breakaway based in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, and Renewal based in Eastern Desert, Egypt.
Battlefield 2042 players have the ability to respawn in fighter jets, attack helicopters, or just call-in for an available vehicle near their location.
Since the new Battlefield title is set in the near future — 2042 — it gets a gamut of futuristic weapons and gadgets. A “Plus” system allows players to customise their weapons on the spot.
Players still get to choose from the four traditional Battlefield characters under Assault, Engineer, Medic, and Recon classes. Each character can be equipped with all the weapons and gadgets a player has unlocked, while each character does have its own unique skills and gadgets.
Dynamic weather — tornadoes and sandstorms — will affect the gameplay and ‘Levolution’ and destructive environment from Battlefield 4 can be experienced in the upcoming game.
Battlefield 2042 does not have a story or campaign mode
Photo Credit: EA Dice
Battlefield 2042 review
Early reviews of Battlefield 2042 show the game has lived up to critics’ expectation. Some critics say that going the multiplayer route gives the game a breath of fresh air.
On Metacritic, Battlefield 2042 currently has a total score of 76 out of 100, based on 39 critic reviews.
On the other hand, on Open Critic, the new Battlefield title has scored a total of 74 points out of 100, based on 49 critic reviews.
You can read our review of the Battlefield 2042 open beta till the review of the final version of the game is published in the following days.