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Battlefield 2042 was supposed to be the next big thing in the series, and DICE and EA were banking heavily on it. With a multiplayer-only experience, the game was set to be the stage of grand battles where every moment would offer a different thrill to players. Fast forward to six months since its release, and very few things have worked for the game.
EA has already acknowledged that the game has been a failure for them in an internal meeting. While DICE continues to work on it, the future of Battlefield 2042 doesn't look very bright. The game has been entering EA Play for seven months since its release, but some strong reasons have led to its failure.
Key reasons for Battlefield 2042's catastrophic failure
5) Making unnecessary changes
Battlefield 2042 was built with a live-service game in mind, but was there any requirement? All the previous games in the series have had a campaign. Like Battlefield V, some might not be the strongest parts of the game, but there's a difference between having some content and none. Battlefield V also has an active multiplayer, but live service doesn't appear to be its background motive.
Making a live-service game isn't as easy as it sounds. The task has become harder as fan expectations have gone up to some degree. Some of the reasons that will appear next on this list are primarily because of the path DICE decided to follow.
4) Missing features
It's hard to imagine that Battlefield 2042 was released without a functional scoreboard or a voice chat. If a game is built in a manner where communication isn't key, it might have made sense. However, the latest game was all-out warfare between real players. It's hard to guess, but EA missed a trick by not introducing voice communication at launch. It took a lot of negative feedback and six months to be introduced.
Even with the introduction of the scoreboard and voice communication, fans are less than pleased. A majority believe that these shouldn't even be considered features since they should be there by default. The game still misses some more vital features, and nobody seems to know when or if they could arrive.
3) Specialists
There is no shortage of bad decisions taken over Battlefield 2042, and one of the worst has been the inclusion of specialists. For unexplained reasons, DICE and EA decided to add backstories to the older class system. The soldiers also got their unique abilities and gadgets. This might have worked well on paper if it did as intended. Unfortunately, the gadgets and abilities have been nothing but a hindrance to players.
Another major issue with the specialists has been the lack of control related to factions. Hence, some specialists might be playing in two factions if chosen. This adds to more confusion, and fans have repeatedly spoken about their displeasure and the wish to see them revert to the older class system.
2) Bugs
Irrespective of the type of game, bugs can wreak havoc, which has happened with Battlefield 2042. According to an internal report, the recent Battlefield game has the highest percentage of bugs among all the releases in the series. EA has blamed COVID-19 and working from home as some possible reasons, but players think otherwise. Some of the game's features haven't worked and have resulted in more work for the developers.
When the game was released, social media was flocked by scenes of hovercrafts flying across the skies. There have been strange bugs like weapons locking to hip fire-only mode after exiting a vehicle. Overall, the bugs have resulted in the game's failure and have contributed to reason number one.
1) Lack of content
The essence of a live-service game is about providing consistent content throughout the game's cycle. Unfortunately, the content in Battlefield 2042 has been barebones. Despite the severe criticism, DICE has stayed busy fixing the bugs over adding something new. The developers have tried to showcase basic features like voice chat and scoreboards like new things, but fans have been less than happy with those endeavors.
The worst impact of this has been the delay of Season One content. It has been pushed back to spring and doesn't have a new date. The Portal mode, a rare positive, has also been limited by recent changes. Fans have kept asking for more content, but there has been very little. The bugs and missing features haven't helped, but Battlefield 2042 doesn't have the necessary content to classify it under live service.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
