Will Battlefield 2042 potentially become free-to-play in light of poor reception and plummeting player counts?

When it comes to having one of the worst launches and poorest player receptions in video game history, Battlefield 2042 can have the cake and eat it too.

While the game was not particularly bad, it failed to live up to community expectations, and as such, fans have dubbed it the long-running franchise's worst entry. The charts for the title are plummeting, and players are quitting the game at an alarming rate, making its state of play abysmal.

This led quite a few industry insiders to suggest that the title might perhaps become free-to-play in the near future.

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Will Battlefield 2042 going free-to-play save it?

One such insider, Tom Henderson, who is highly regarded by the industry for his accurate leaks, rumors, and insider news, tweeted:

“EA is reportedly very disappointed with how Battlefield 2042 has performed and is "looking at all the options" when it comes to the title, this is including looking at Free to Play in some capacity.”

While still a rumor, it seems very plausible that EA and DICE might look into the free-to-play model in an attempt to salvage the game and improve its player count. However, community members feel that even if the game were to become free across all platforms, it would still be plagued by recurring issues.

Game-breaking bugs, exploits, and the lack of campaign mode have made Battlefield 2042 one of the worst received titles in video game history.

Even a cheat maker was forced to shut shop, not because of the game's anti-cheat mechanisms but because of the numerous bugs that prevented the cheats from working as intended.

The game left a bitter taste, and fans were outraged at how unpolished and unplayable it was.

Players' discontent reached a new high, and the community became so toxic about the state of the shooter that the game’s subreddit had to threaten its own shutdown.

While the title going free-to-play might seem like a step in the right direction, the playerbase is not convinced it will resolve the ongoing issues. The onus of turning things around will primarily fall on EA's Apex Legends boss Vince Zampella, who was recently put in charge of the Battlefield franchise by the publisher.