On Wednesday, October 6th, the beta phase of Battlefield 2042 starts in Early Access. Players with access can play the beta two days early. Here you have an overview of how you can test earlier.
Update, October 6th, 9:33 AM: Apparently, many players are experiencing issues with the EA Play subscription. The beta often does not allow affected players to log in, displaying an error message. So far, there is no proper solution for this.
Other players recommend just trying again. The development team is already working on a solution.
This is how Early Access to the Open Beta works: Normally, you need to pre-order Battlefield 2042 to participate in the beta early.
All the information on where you can pre-order and download the beta can be found in our overview: Battlefield 2042 starts preload for the Open Beta – Download and Early Access
Pre-orderers get access on October 6th, while the Open Beta opens its doors for all players on October 8th. However, there are also other ways to play earlier without pre-ordering. We accompany the release of the beta for Battlefield 2042 on MeinMMO in the live ticker.
You need either the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or an EA Play subscription. We explain what you need to consider.
Battlefield 2042 – Early Access to the Beta with Game Pass and EA Play
This is how the Xbox Game Pass works: The Xbox Game Pass gives you access to a changing selection of various games for a monthly fee. If you are a first-time buyer, you can get the pass for just 1 Euro in the first month.
The Game Pass is available for all Xbox consoles and PC. There are two variants:
- The standard Game Pass costs €9.99 per month
- It is available for either console or PC
- The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs regular €12.99 per month
- This is cross-platform and also includes Xbox Live Gold, which is also required for the beta.
You need the Ultimate Pass to gain access to the Early Access of Battlefield 2042. Because it also automatically includes an EA Play subscription. With this subscription, you gain Early Access to the beta at launch. (xbox.com)
This is how the EA Play subscription works: Without the Game Pass, this subscription costs €3.99 per month and €25.99 per year. However, you can purchase the Game Pass and EA Play together in the first month for only one Euro. Afterwards, the price increases to the regular monthly fee.
What is EA Play? Similar to the Game Pass, with the EA Play subscription, you receive new EA games monthly and some other benefits, such as the Early Access access to the beta of Battlefield 2042.
What is the cheapest way? If you are a first-time buyer of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, this is definitely the offer of your choice. Especially as an Xbox player, you save money since a Gold membership is included.
PC players, on the other hand, may be interested in the EA Play subscription, as they do not need a Gold membership like on Xbox.
What about PlayStation players? You can also link the subscription to your PSN account. Thus, you can also use this option on PlayStation, but you do not have a Game Pass in the bundle. Keep in mind that you will also need PS Plus to play the beta.
How does the beta proceed? The preload is already running and the Early Access phase begins on October 6th. The open beta phase starts on October 8th. Finally, the beta ends on October 10th at 9 AM.
On which platforms can you play? The beta will be available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS5.
If you are still undecided, our checklist for the Battlefield 2042 beta may help you decide whether you should play it.
