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Back in late 2021, I previewed Battlefield 2042 alongside many other game journalists. The version of the game we played felt great, and I sincerely enjoyed it. Imagine my surprise when it launched; it was an absolute mess. The title launched to a mixed reception, and fans were furious.
It got so bad that a four-year-old Battlefield game, Battlefield V was played with greater amounts of players than Battlefield 2042 was. That’s a painful thing to see. Over the last few years, however, Electronic Arts has put some work into the shooter. But, while some have come back to it, is it worth playing here in 2023?
What went wrong with Battlefield 2042, and what has been done to steer the ship in the right direction? Is it worth playing again? Here’s what you need to know.
What went wrong with Battlefield 2042 in the first place?
To say that Battlefield 2042 was launched with “a few bugs” is certainly misleading. It was released as a nearly unplayable, buggy mess. There were bundles of glitches, crashes, and poor gameplay experiences. The worst ones were glitches that prevented players from getting exp from the matches they played. After all, that’s why we play shooters, right?
The 128-player game modes weren’t tracking exp at all. Battlefield 2042 had other, smaller modes, but the reason people flocked to the franchise has to be the huge “battlefield” style maps like these.
It would be too long of a list to go over everything that was wrong with the game. It would take months for players to see significant changes. Even in 2022, players would find that their loadouts would become invisible, revert to basic loadouts, or characters would just freeze up. Instead, people played Battlefield V, which worked properly.
Although, bugs can be fixed. The biggest crime of Battlefield 2042 is that it just wasn’t fun. In a bubble, it felt fun because it was a group of people coming together to play and chat. Over the course of a few hours, it was certainly enjoyable.
The formula hadn’t changed in years, and the changes that were made weren’t really fun. The Specialists were lampooned by fans as a poor replacement to the previously lauded “Class” system. There was no single-player campaign, and some maps didn’t even work properly.
Players were furious, and over 200,000 people signed a petition to try and get refunds for the game. Over the next few years, it would change.
How did Battlefield 2042 improve over the last few years?
We’ve seen a few seasons’ worth of content in Battlefield 2042 over the last year or so from DICE and Electronic Arts. Over the first few seasons, the maps improved in quality, and the Portal mode continued to shine. It was one of the greatest parts of Battlefield 2042, as it let players customize some of the classic moments from the series and play them with their friends.
While the seasonal content was good, players were frustrated that, besides paying for a game that let them down, they also had to pay for the Premium Content that came with each seasonal update.
In August 2042, classes came back! The Specialists would have classes to be categorized into Assault, Recon, Support, and Engineer. This felt far more familiar to me as well. They also have new Class Traits. Thankfully, weapons can still be used by anyone. It was a major change and a welcome one.
The current maps are much better than the launch maps. The smaller ones are better and tighter. There have been new vehicles, new weapons, and other general improvements to the game as well. Players aren’t as upset with it now, but it’s not perfect yet. However, I feel like Battlefield 2042 has never been better. Does that mean it’s worth purchasing?
The gameplay might be better, but it still ultimately suffers from a poor monetization system. The Seasonal Premium Updates might have introduced better content, but they have been far from popular. It’s hard to be motivated to buy updates for a game that is performing negatively.
Final Verdict: Yes/No
Should you buy Battlefield 2042? If it’s available on a cheap sale and comes with extra content? Sure, it might be okay to buy. In my estimation, the game is worth playing if you don’t have to pay for it - like on Game Pass. If you have Microsoft's subscription on PC or Xbox, I would advise giving the game a try. I’m not saying the title is terrible now because it’s not.
It has certainly improved since its launch, but I recommend playing it for free before making a further informed decision. There are other FPS titles out there right now that weren’t a complete mess at launch, with some of them even being free-to-play out of the gate.
I hope that DICE and Electronic Arts learn from this game's launch and the chaos that came out of its initial launch. While it's still a deeply flawed game, it’s in a much better position than it was.
