Battlefield 2042 Season 1 delayed to early summer
Battlefield 2042‘s Season 1 will now launch in early summer, according to a recent announcement from developer DICE.
As stated in a tweet, the delay will give DICE time to “focus on improving… core elements to the game,” including introducing a new scoreboard, adding in voice comms and a “player profile,” and creating a “tighter squad loop.” Speaking to the last point, we can expect a “refined ping system” as well an “improved reward loop” for playing the objective. Though DICE never officially announced when Season 1 would start, a datamine from late last year hinted at a March 2022 release window.
In an accompanying blog post, DICE also states its commitment to “pushing up the quality of the game, both through our updates, and how rapidly we will respond to critical issues in the live environment.” This process will involve a “new feedback loop” that will show with more transparency how it’s receiving and implementing player feedback.
This conversation will start “later this month” when DICE unveils its plans for “enhancements to the gameplay experience” with new maps “by addressing feedback on openness and lack of cover in key areas.” DICE also stated that it has a “team analyzing Specialists and working on them” but that it’s “not quite ready to talk about the actions we’ll be taking.”
DICE also announced that players who purchased the Gold and Ultimate Editions of the game will receive a new cosmetics bundle with Update 3.3, which has been pushed to March. The “Steadfast Exclusive Legendary Bundle” includes new skins for Mackay, the Bolte, the K30, and the M44, as well as a new melee weapon, player card, and player icon. Following the delay announcement, this is meant to “acknowledge and thank you for your patience and continued support” for players who purchased editions with the Year 1 pass.
When all is said and done, we still don’t know what exactly DICE plans to include in Season 1. We do know that Year 1 will include four new Specialists, but as far as maps or weapons are concerned, Respawn boss and new Battlefield chief Vince Zampella recently stated that 2042‘s first new map is called Exposure and that it will take “map design to a whole new level.”
Battlefield 2042 is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Michael Goroff has written and edited for EGM since 2017. You can follow him on Twitter @gogogoroff.
