Battlefield 2042 will continue to develop 128-player maps, CM says

Update 6/7/22 2:30 p.m. PT: Battlefield 2042 community manager Kevin Johnson recently took to Twitter to clarify that DICE would continue to develop maps for 128 players, contradicting an earlier report from Xbox.

“Just to clarify, we have no intention to drop 128P support for future map offerings,” Johnson stated. “Players have told us this is great for some modes, but not everything. Our focus is on building for fun, freedom, and creativity with 128P being present on future maps in Battlefield Portal too!”

Xbox Wire also updated its story to reflect this non-change.

Original story: Battlefield 2042 has already dropped 128-player Breakthrough, but it looks like 128-player Conquest won’t make it to future content either.

According to a post about Season 1, “Zero Hour,” on Xbox Wire, developer DICE will be “moving away from the 128-player game modes, electing to enhance the current maps and development of future maps for 64 players.” That change will start with Season 2, so Season 1’s Exposure map will support 128-player Conquest.

Moving away from 128-player matches is a huge pivot for the game, for which “128 players” was integral to both the design and the marketing pre-launch. At a Q&A during our hands-on preview with Season 1, a DICE producer stated that 128-player Conquest was the game’s most popular mode at the moment and that they still planned on supporting it. However, it appears that “supporting” 128 players doesn’t mean “including it in future content.”

At this point, DICE has canceled more support for content in the game than it’s added. Hazard Zone is done moving forward. So is 128-player Breakthrough. Season 1 adds a paltry amount of content when it launches this week, and the game just reached “1.0” status with its pre-update patch. But at least players can buy a new battle pass.

Battlefield 2042 is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Season 1 was recently revealed in a new gameplay trailer.