With the end of the Open Beta of Battlefield 2042, it’s time to take stock. How did it go down with the MeinMMO community and players? We summarize the reactions and the results of our survey for you.
This is the reason for our survey: On October 8, Battlefield 2042 launched into Open Beta. The open testing phase gave you about 2 days to get a first glimpse of the big multiplayer shooter and try out some new mechanics.
What did the Beta offer? Players could play the Conquest mode on the map “Orbital.” They could choose from four specialists and their gadgets, as well as test some weapons and their attachments.
Previously, pre-order customers and EA Play subscribers could participate in an early access phase and start 2 days earlier. Here you can find an overview of the Open Beta with all relevant information.
After the start of the Open Beta, we asked you the question: “What do you think of the Beta of Battlefield 2042?” These are the results of the survey.
Open Beta of Battlefield 2042 receives mixed feedback
This is how our readers rate the Open Beta: At the time of evaluating our survey (October 10, 10:30), 3584 players participated in the survey.
They could choose between “Very good,” “Good,” “Okay,” “Not so good,” “Not good at all,” and “I do not play the Beta.”
With 27% of the votes (964), the Beta was rated “Good” by most readers. The option “Okay” followed with 23% (808) of the votes.
14% (499) of you found the Beta even very good, 13% (474) voted for “Not so good,” and 11% (411) rated it “Not good at all.” 12% (428) of the survey participants did not play the Beta at all.
Here are the results listed directly:
- Good (27%, 964 votes)
- Okay (23%, 808 votes)
- Very good (14%, 499 votes)
- Not so good (13%, 474 votes)
- I do not play the Beta (12%, 428 votes)
- Not good at all (11%, 411 votes)
Therefore, 41% of you found the Beta good or better, while 24% rated it not good or really bad. Nevertheless, one can say it’s a mixed result, as 23% are somewhere in between.
- This is also reflected in our comments. For example, Phinphin’s impression is “rather mixed. Many great new ideas like the climbing and descending, the specialists, and various smaller ‘levelution elements’ on the map.”
- However, he mentions several criticisms such as bugs, spawn points, missing features, and confusing menus. “The Beta convinced me to wait with the purchase.”
- Melimik adds: “So it’s fun, but somehow the movement bothers me a lot. Feeling quicker when sliding seems more like CoD to me rather than BF. Otherwise, the performance on the PS5 is terrible, […] it definitely ruins the fun of the game.”
- Tim also struggled with technical problems: “Almost nothing worked in the Beta, not even spawning worked and the graphics were rather meh. […] Honestly, the Beta was really sad, it was more of an Alpha test than anything else.”
- Klabauter, on the other hand, had quite a bit of fun with the Beta: “I think it’s great that you can change attachments on the fly. I also like the operators [specialists].” However, he criticizes that it’s difficult to orient oneself on the map. He refers to it as the CoD syndrome – due to the smaller maps. “But you have to play BF like BF and not like CoD. Then it’s fun. Team play is super important.”
The votes reflect the survey: There are positive aspects and Battlefield 2042 is fun for many people, but there is a long list of deficiencies, and the implementation of some elements is questionable.
For example, there is annoyance regarding the always looking similar specialists that make it difficult to distinguish between friend and foe. Also, bots vary greatly in performance between being dumb and matrix agents.
The technical state worries players
This is how Battlefield 2042 comes across after the Beta: While our impression is mixed, but tends towards the positive, it looks different in the subreddit of Battlefield 2042.
By now, there are quite a few posts there that leave hardly a good word about the Beta. Some players even fear that the release of Battlefield 2042 could become another case like Cyberpunk 2077. (via reddit)
What happened back then with Cyberpunk 2077? It was one of the biggest game releases of the last few years, which subsequently went very wrong, especially due to massive technical flaws in the PS4 and Xbox One versions. It went as far as leading to a lawsuit against the developer CD Project RED.
Since then, many games have this horror scenario in mind and hope that Battlefield 2042 will postpone its release. Because the technical deficiencies are definitely present and also MeinMMO author Benedict noticed in his first drive.
Now heated debates are being conducted about whether the shooter will be postponed or not and who is to blame for the situation. Players debated who is responsible, the publisher Electronic Arts or the developer DICE.
A significant point of criticism is also missing features that a player compiled from older Battlefield installments in a video. The clip went viral in the subreddit with over 18,000 upvotes and received over 2000 comments.
Industry insider Tom Henderson has also commented multiple times on the technical state of the Beta and wishes for a postponement of the release:
The biggest plus I can give the Battlefield 2042 Beta is that EVERYTHING is there to make this game absolutely outstanding. The movement, the gameplay, the destruction, the weather, etc. are all great. But in my opinion, it just needs more time.
via Twitter
Other shooter experts such as SkillUp agree with this (via Twitter). EA’s statement that the Beta build is several months old does not comfort many people either.
What is the conclusion? Even though there are many negative voices regarding the Open Beta, our survey shows: A large part of the players had a lot of fun in the Beta, despite technical flaws, for example with destroying the rocket. Experience shows that negative voices are always louder than positive ones.
Those who are satisfied have no reason to announce it on the internet. Therefore, it is hard to say how negatively the Beta was actually received. It is certain that the technical problems of the Open Beta were numerous and are a cause for concern for many players.
Whether EA’s statement about the Beta build will ultimately prove true and the release version of Battlefield 2042 will be in a better technical state remains to be seen. After the Beta, many players are rather discouraged and concerned.
When will Battlefield 2042 be released? The shooter is set to be released on November 19, 2021, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4.
What about you? What experiences did you have with the Beta of Battlefield 2042? What do you think of the players’ reactions and the results of the survey? Let us know in the comments.
You can read how the GameStar community feels about the Beta here:
Your verdict on the Battlefield 2042 Beta: Enthusiasm looks different
