After Update 3, which accidentally leaked new skins for the Pre-Season for Battlefield 2042, there was intense criticism from players. Now, developer DICE has responded and commented on the issue.
What happened? The big Update 3 accidentally brought some skins into the game too early on December 2nd. Among them was an outfit for the specialist Boris, which gave him a Christmas coat and a white beard like Santa Claus.
In addition to the disappointment about the update, this particular skin, which fans have now mockingly dubbed “Santa Boris,” did not go down well with players. Many voices claimed that such cosmetics have no place in Battlefield and accused the developers of turning Battlefield 2042 into “Fortnite 2042.”
Now the developers have responded to the criticism and issued a statement on Twitter. In the statement, DICE made it clear that they currently have other priorities and that not all skins will be available everywhere. We summarize their statements for you.
Developers on Skins – Not all will be available for Christmas; priorities lie elsewhere
This is what DICE says about the skins: In the Twitter thread, it is said that live service models require months of work in advance.
This would open up opportunities if key moments are reached in the first year. With this, the developers seem to emphasize how important the model is for the development of Battlefield 2042.
Nevertheless, they currently have other priorities. They have no plans to release all these skins this Christmas.
Some of the cosmetics were also created specifically for certain modes and events in the Portal mode and are not available everywhere.
We also create unique cosmetics for one-time use in special Battlefield Portal modes to enhance the experience during special events. During our live service, you may occasionally come across these cosmetics locked for the mode, which do not affect the rest of the game.
via Twitter
With this, they likely wanted to address players’ concerns that the skins might harm immersion. However, which ones fall into this category is not specified.
Instead, they refer to the upcoming weekly challenges starting next week, where they already show some of the upcoming unlockable weapon skins.
Insider Tom Henderson has also commented on the topic, giving fans another reason not to be happy with the skins.
According to Insider, the skins did not go down well in secret feedback rounds
Who is he anyway? Anyone deeply involved with topics like Battlefield or CoD will come across Tom Henderson sooner or later. He is considered an industry insider with good connections to numerous developers and other important staff at EA, DICE, Activision, and others.
He has also commented on the skin issue and revealed: Apparently, there was a secret feedback round months before the release, in which the skins were rated by selected testers in a survey.
Even back then, these skins reportedly did not go well and scored poorly with testers. However, this ultimately had little impact, as the skins have now resurfaced.
This naturally causes further anger among players, who are raising exactly this information under the developers’ statement. The Reddit thread has already received about 11,000 upvotes and adds further fuel to the fire. (via reddit)
Whether players will ultimately be satisfied with the developers’ response remains to be seen. However, the initial reactions to the Twitter post show little understanding of it.
But what do you think about the discussion? Are the skins annoying? Or do you not find them too bad? What do you think about the developers’ reaction?
By the way: Recently, another key staff member left Battlefield 2042 – Now the head of EA’s cash cow Apex Legends is on board
