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Though Battlefield 2042 doesn’t officially launch until next Friday, it has launched today for people who pay extra. Folks who buy the Gold or Ultimate editions, or subscribe to EA Play Pro, can now hop on and start popping faces in Dice’s new FPS. Everyone else, hey, be glad that other people are paying to test the game for you so it’s in better shape later. Though reportedly voice chat won’t even be in by the time it properly launch so sheesh.
The game officially launches on the 19th but early access started today. You can get in by buying the Gold Edition (£30 extra, includes the first season pass) or Ultimate Edition (£50 extra, includes the season pass and some cruft), or EA Play Pro subscribers can play the full game too while regular EA Play members get a ten-hour trial. Pre-ordering is naff but I can see buying the Gold Edition if you’re a fan who knows they’ll be playing no matter what.
It’s on Steam, Origin, and the Epic Games Store.
“My gut tells me that this is a solid shooter with modes that’ll appeal to plenty of FPS fans,” Ed said in our Battlefield 2042 review-in-progress (not a proper review because it was under conditions tightly controlled by EA). “But, despite its comparatively poor showing in the hands-on, it’s Portal that I believe has the potential to be something truly special.”
If you’re waiting to see and hear more before buying (as you should), I’m sure your favourite Battlefield Twitchers and YouTubers will be all over it. I see it’s the second-most-watched game on Twitch right now, behind the Elden Ring network test on consoles.
Dice are currently working out some kinks. Portal, the mode which lets players fiddle with game rules and army compositions and more, has suffered a server shortage. They also quickly stamped on Portal modes made for XP farming. I see quite a few people griping about bugs, and I did enjoy this match starting with half the squad in a deadly zone. Early access, innit. Though cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer did report that voice chat likely won’t be added until after launch so that’ll be an issue even then.
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