With Battlefield 2042, the popular shooter series seems to be taking a big, important step forward, according to first impressions. But if Battlefield wants to keep up with its biggest competitor Call of Duty in the long run, it still needs to improve significantly in a critical area, says MeinMMO shooter expert Sven Galitzki.
This is what many have been waiting for: The new Battlefield 2042 has now finally been officially introduced, and many details about the new shooter are now known:
- The first-person shooter traditionally relies on large battles with huge maps and all sorts of military equipment, but now brings everything in a massive scale, even with up to 128 players in a match.
- The setting is set nearly 20 years in the future and places players in a world shaped by the conflict between the superpowers USA and Russia.
- The new Battlefield is also now a pure multiplayer title; there is no single-player campaign.
All further important details about Battlefield 2042 can be read here in an overview: Battlefield 2042 finally officially introduced – Here is everything we know after the reveal
So far, the new Battlefield is being received: Based on the first impressions and information, it seems that the series is taking a strong (and necessary) step forward with the latest installment and focusing on its strengths – just like Call of Duty once did with Modern Warfare and Warzone. And exactly that, paired with a spectacular, action-packed trailer, is received extremely well by fans and players.
He is a big Battlefield fan and has spent countless hours in the series – especially in the modern installments. But also thousands of hours in the Destiny and Division series are part of his portfolio.
He is also regularly active in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, and Warzone.
Battlefield 2042 takes a big step towards Call of Duty
Looking at what Battlefield offers in detail with its latest installment, the parallel to Call of Duty is hard to miss. Battlefield has taken a lot from its perhaps biggest competitor. But why actually?
This is what makes Call of Duty so strong: With Modern Warfare from 2019 and especially with the in-house battle royale Warzone, a new era for Call of Duty began. There were among other things:
- numerous meaningful changes
- learning from the biggest mistakes (paid DLCs, community division)
- shaking off old, unloved ballast (such as the controversial loot boxes, which were replaced by visible direct purchases in the shop)
- reaching a much broader audience with a new business model (free-to-play, fair battle pass, all relevant new content like weapons and maps for free) and thereby achieving great success
- establishing Call of Duty as a live-service game (constant updates, new content through seasons, events, fresh playlists, new weapons and modes, always something new to do, keeping in the conversation)
- the battle royale Warzone became the link between the annual major releases and offered an excellent opportunity to dip into Call of Duty for free, testing weapons and gameplay
Since then, Call of Duty has been extremely successful – or even more successful than it was already. Financially, the numbers only know one direction – upwards. Just like the number of players who have fun in Call of Duty.
Battlefield lags behind Call of Duty in the development of “service games”
What about Battlefield? All of this did not really succeed for Battlefield with part 5. Although DICE already tried to respond to this “games-as-a-service” development at Call of Duty, it never really succeeded. They were still somehow stuck in a time when they released a few bigger content updates per year and stayed there. And eventually, after the summer update last year, they gave up. Since then, there has been practically nothing new around Battlefield 5.
The biggest problems in direct comparison to CoD were primarily:
- Although they had introduced a battle royale with Firestorm, it was tied to the paid main game and thus only available to a limited audience. And buying a full-price title that doesn’t come out particularly well just to try out a battle royale is something not many people do.
- Especially the live service in Battlefield 5 was a weakness: updates took too long, new content came too slowly, there was no successful battle pass like in many games, nor seasons that brought fresh air into the game.
This is how Battlefield is catching up now: However, it seems that DICE and EA have learned from this. With Battlefield 2042, the Battlefield series is significantly catching up in the important live-service area that is crucial for success. They apparently want to eradicate the most critical problem zone from the predecessor with all their might.
- Everywhere it is loudly emphasized that the new Battlefield is clearly oriented towards live service and is to be maintained and supported in the long run. It is now clearly recognizable from the beginning that they want to remain relevant continuously after release.
- Part of the live service support will be the new season pass. This pass offers a paid premium path and a free path that you can level up in exchange for playtime.
- The season pass will not only bring cosmetic items but also gameplay-relevant content like weapons, equipment, and new specialists.
- However, all important contents should be earnable through the free path – the premium variant only delivers additional cosmetics.
- There will be a seasonal system, which will include the season pass. In the first year, there will be a total of 4 seasons waiting for players – each with its own pass and new content.
Moreover, just as once with CoD, there are numerous, in my opinion, meaningful changes and improvements:
- Battlefield focuses 100% on what makes the series appealing to most – the multiplayer. There is no banal single-player or forced co-op attachment. Finally, no more unnecessary and resource-consuming modes that, in the end, no one plays.
- The characteristic large-scale battles will be even bigger with up to 128 players.
- The maps are also expected to be far beyond what has been considered large in Battlefield so far.
- With further developed “Levolution,” additional dynamics come into the battles. The maps will change through external events like tornadoes, thunderstorms, or sandstorms during the match – with sometimes drastic effects on gameplay.
- Players can now customize their weapons directly and in real-time during the match.
- You can have vehicles dropped from parachutes anywhere on the map and no longer have to fight over specific spawn points.
In short: Battlefield has noticeably learned from past mistakes and criticisms. But it has also failed to address one very important point. Probably not yet.
The influence on gameplay could be drastic. In the reveal trailer, for example, you can see a tornado that flings players and vehicles like toys and can change the course of a match.
What Battlefield 2042 still needs to deliver
Here Battlefield still needs to improve: A key component that is largely responsible for the success of Call of Duty is the free-to-play battle royale Warzone. This is exactly how Call of Duty attracts masses of players; month after month, the numbers are consistently increasing.
As a result, the franchise itself has become much more accessible and regularly attracts new players who otherwise mainly play other games like Fortnite or Apex Legends, and it also serves as a gateway into the main releases of the CoD franchise.
The seasonal system in Call of Duty, along with the battle pass, is completely free if desired and cross-game, just like the progress. You can level the battle pass in Warzone, but also in Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War. The contents from the battle pass can be used either in the respective main title or in Warzone.
And whether one likes it or not – this very business model is crucial for success. And success justifies this system. So if Battlefield wants to compete seriously with Call of Duty as a franchise in the long run, especially as a full-price game, DICE and EA will have to replicate this model as well.
Because Battlefield 2042 will launch without a battle royale or any other free-to-play content in the style of Warzone. And if DICE misses the boat again, I believe it could cost the latest Battlefield installment its connection to Call of Duty in the long run. What happened in Battlefield 5 has been seen.
EA hints at a free-to-play spin-off of Battlefield 2042
How realistic is that? Battlefield 2042 comes without a battle royale, and currently, there is no official talk about it, but it has never been denied either. And looking at the statements from the last EA earnings call, it can certainly be seen: Something in that vein is likely to come.
Because at this investor event, the value and importance of the Battlefield franchise for future plans were emphatically highlighted. However, it was also stated that the previous business model for Battlefield is considered conservative, and that they want to use new business models to reach a new audience. That strongly suggests that they will also follow the path of Call of Duty with the Warzone model.
A further step in the same direction has already been taken. For example, a Battlefield spin-off for mobile platforms is already in the works – as competition for Call of Duty: Mobile. Therefore, something in the free-to-play realm on the level of Warzone is likely to come soon.
Conclusion: With Battlefield 2042, Battlefield has already taken an important step in the development of the franchise, which was urgently needed after part 5: A clear step in the right direction, even if it is simultaneously a step towards Call of Duty.
But if you want to compete in the new landscape of shooters with CoD in the long run, you will need to consistently continue on this path and also need to catch up to the free-to-play aspect of Call of Duty. If you don’t, I am quite certain that Battlefield 2042, despite all its other advancements, improvements, and strengths, could end up lagging behind its biggest competitor in direct comparison.
A loyal fan base alone may simply not be enough anymore as it was in the past. A pure full-price title against a large, overarching model with additional free-to-play will likely have a hard time.
What do you think of the latest installment of the Battlefield series so far? Do you believe that a free-to-play battle royale in the style of Warzone will be released for Battlefield 2042? How would you view such a development for Battlefield? Do you think this is the right path for a shooter to remain competitive in the long term? Let us know and other readers at MeinMMO in the comments.
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