As a result, the mode “hasn’t found the appropriate home” in Battlefield 2042, and no additional material for it will be released.
DICE has stated that support for the game’s Escape from Tarkov-inspired mode, Hazard Zone, is “winding down” as the developer looks ahead to all of the changes and new content coming to Battlefield 2042 as part of the game’s first season.
Hazard Zone will be playable in the future, according to DICE, and the studio will resolve “major problems or weird behaviours” in the mode if they arise. However, no new content will be added to the mode.
“Throughout development, all of us on the team had high hopes for this new Battlefield experience, but we’re the first to admit that it hasn’t found the right home in Battlefield 2042, and that we’ll benefit greatly from focusing our focus and energy on the modes we see you engaging with the most,” Battlefield community lead Adam Freeman writes in a lengthy blog post outlining changes and updates coming to the game in the near future.
The announcement comes as DICE explains what the team has learnt from Battlefield 2042’s rough debut and what the teams are presently working on in preparation for Season 1’s June release.
Nearly every facet of the game will be improved, from map modifications that will offer additional cover to changes to the way Specialists are depicted. Some of the adjustments will include making Specialists “grittier” and “closer to the more serious tone that we want to come through in our story,” as well as reducing their more immersion-breaking voice lines and ensuring future Specialist cosmetics are “more grounded” and military-themed.
DICE recently dropped the game’s 128-player Breakthrough option in favour of a 64-player Breakthrough mode, which DICE claims allows the team to “create more concentrated frontlines for the engagement” and resulting in a more tactical and less chaotic player experience.
On Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, Conquest will still allow 128 players. After being “unchained” from needing to create modes particularly for 128 players, it appears that future new modes will not be designed with 64v64 in mind.
The announcement that Battlefield’s Rush game mode will be a crucial feature of Battlefield 2042 Season 1 and will only accommodate 32 players is a perfect illustration of this. The mode will benefit from the enhancements made possible by the addition of Rush in Battlefield Portal. Battlefield Portal maps (which include rebuilt levels from previous Battlefield games like Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3) will be included to the game’s All-Out Warfare rotation “to assist provide additional variation to our Core Modes,” according to the press release.
The game’s All-Out Warfare playlist will also include weapons and gadgets from previous games that are presently included in Battlefield Portal.
The Battlefield franchise’s first battle pass, including both free and premium tiers, will debut in Season 1. New weapons and gadgets will be available in the game via the battle pass’s free levels, and players will also be able to win free and premium cosmetics.
It’s all part of DICE’s “continuing commitment” to Battlefield 2042, with the developer’s objective being to “repair the trust that many of you believe was harmed when we debuted back in November of last year,” according to the blog post.
Despite Battlefield 2042’s dismal debut, EA and DICE have increased their commitment to the Battlefield series in recent months. EA CEO Andrew Wilson has stated that Battlefield is still an essential part of the publisher’s portfolio and that it is “rethinking the production process” for future chapters of the game, with Vince Zampella, the head of Respawn Entertainment, now overseeing the brand.
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