This is a behind-the-scenes insight into Battlefield 2042’s troubled development and identity crises.
It’s been several days since the Battlefield 2042 Beta ended, giving many players their first-ever experience in the near-future conflict.
Fans received the Beta with mixed opinions, with many concerned as to why the Beta felt so incomplete. Not only did bugs, glitches, and performance issues plague the game, but it didn’t feel like Battlefield title.
Features that gave Battlefield its renowned character were cut, with the game feeling more like a game that copied trends, instead of creating them.
Our first major red flag for the Battlefield 2042 Beta came just a day prior to the start date. EA reported that the Beta of the game was several months old.
EA’s forum post stated, “Our Open Beta was branched from our Full Release client a few months ago, and polished and improved to provide a great snapshot of the full experience”. Shortly after, DICE solidified this, saying that they had fixed most of the Beta’s bugs for launch.
Not only did we get a conflicting “polished and improved” statement from EA. But after, we got the perfect justification story for the bugs, glitches, and performance issues before the Beta even going live.
Read More: Battlefield 2042 Easy Anti-Cheat is Good, But There are Flaws
EA DICE
Battlefield 2042 Secrets
Over the last few months, I have been in contact with an associate at DICE, who wishes to remain anonymous. This associate is one of several people who has been feeding me information that I’ve regularly released.
The information has included key Battlefield 2042 details which I’ve publicly been sharing since May. However, I have also been regularly kept in the loop on how Battlefield 2042 development is going.
On September 17th, I reported some of this information, stating that the game has been in trouble for months.
After EA claimed that the build was “months old”, I publicly tried to defend the statement on my Twitter. I calculated that developers had roughly 110 days of development time to fix issues if their statements were true.
However, the Key Timeline of Battlefield 2042 Development Issues shows that the problems with the game date far more back than the Beta.
Battlefield 2042 Beta Build – Older Than We Thought?
However, shortly after my mathematic wizardry, my DICE associate claimed that the beta build wasn’t actually months old at all. The source stated that the Beta build is from early-mid September, but couldn’t give an accurate date.
A second source would later back up this information, who had revealed the Battlefield 2042 delay plans and new Beta release dates to me in mid-September.
There’s no doubt that the Battlefield 2042 Beta build wasn’t a representation of the final product. But why did DICE even release it in that state?
In fact, even in the Battlefield 2042 Open Beta trailer, we can see the more up-to-date version of the game. The added obstructions in the middle of the rocket pad are a clear indicator.
EA DICE
What’s interesting about the Battlefield 2042 Beta though, is that its delay had no impact on what was played on October 6. After delving into the Beta’s build settings, we can see that the build is actually from September 20th, 2021, just one day prior to when the Beta was originally meant to go live.
Disclaimer – Image not taken from the property of Electronic Arts Inc. Image created from publicly available information.
This does not mean the build itself is from this exact date. Still, it tells us that there were zero changes to the build despite the delay.
This seemingly matches up with what I’ve heard for months, that DICE is having major stability issues with builds of the game.
It’s one of the major reasons that up until the Beta, DICE has been quiet on releasing new footage of the game. Not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t.
This was one of the major reasons why EA didn’t show off Battlefield 2042 gameplay at Gamescom.
Also Read: Battlefield 2042 Hazard Zone Likely to be Revealed at the End of October
Alleged Development Problems at DICE
According to both of the sources mentioned, many of the game’s problems have stemmed from management, with some management figures coming from 2017’s Battlefront II.
Management is allegedly not committed enough to the project, with creative being simply told to do X, Y, and Z. One of these management figures was simply described as a “yes man”, and apparently things have “been s*&t since”.
Problems brought up to management also fall on deaf ears throughout the development process. Ultimately creating issues that DICE could have solved earlier in the development process.
As for the lack of creativity, management loved some of Modern Warfare 2019’s aspects that much, that the studio was supposedly encouraged to create something similar.
Activision
Unfortunately, it’s unclear what exactly this means, but one of the features was the Modern Warfare operators. A feature that’s unfortunately ripped away Battlefield’s classic class system.
With supply drops being a thing of the past for most games, publishers need new ways to incentivize purchases. One way of which is the Battle Pass and Specialist system, which has become the norm in recent years.
It’s still unclear what other design choices came from Call of Duty. But a ton of Call of Duty creators (that have never uploaded a Battlefield title before) was invited to the closed Beta capture event. A clear sign that management knows what role Call of Duty played in Battlefield 2042’s development. Unfortunately, this choice left hardcore Battlefield creators waiting in the wings of the capture event.
One of the biggest concerns to stem from the Battlefield 2042 Beta though, is that some hard-working DICE developers are concerned for their jobs. By all accounts that I know of, rumblings in the studio have started, with some developers already speaking out to close friends at other studios.
So far, no indication from management on layoffs has been discussed. But despite this, the events that happened after the Battlefield V reveal still looms over the studio like a dark cloud.
Read More: Battlefield 2042 Early Gameplay Opinions – The Good, Bad, and Ugly
EA DICE
Beta Troubles – What Does the Future of Battlefield 2042 Hold?
Signs of a troubled development these past several months have been obvious. And, unfortunately, the Battlefield 2042 Beta is unmistakable evidence.
Even if the Beta is months old, the reality is that the Beta is the product of over two and a half years of development.
Not only that, but various other studios have come on board to help out.
Fans understand that DICE developed the game during a global pandemic. But we need to remember that it was EA that told investors that in February 2021, that the game was “way ahead of schedule”.
A lot can happen in seven months, sure, but claiming the game is ahead of schedule when the majority of the world is in lockdown, to then have constant pushbacks when the pandemic is seemingly easing is a cause of concern. Development should be getting easier in the new norm, not harder.
DICE and EA not only have any identity crises with Battlefield, but they have one with themselves.
We should be drooling over the November 19th release date after playing the Beta, but it feels more people canceled their pre-order instead of buying it.
Battlefield 2042 is fun, exciting, and has amazing potential. But I can’t help but fear it’s a rocky road ahead for Battlefield, but I sure hope I’m wrong.
EA
In other news, here is a list of every weapon coming to Battlefield 2042 that we know of. What’s more, popular dataminer Temporyal has also revealed the upcoming Battlefield 2042 Season 1 map, ‘Ridge’.
