One of Battlefield 2042’s main modes might drop 128-player support

One of Battlefield 2042‘s main modes might go back to 64 players on a permanent basis, and future maps will be smaller, according to a recent post from developer DICE.

In a recent “core feedback” blog post, DICE identified five key areas, based on community feedback, that Battlefield 2042‘s maps need to improve: Traversal, Intensity, Line of Sight, Paths, and Cover. Basically, players have to run too long to get into the action, and when they arrive, they die instantly.

More specifically, DICE stated that the issue of objectives getting too chaotic is “mainly related to 128 player modes,” especially when it comes to Breakthrough. The more linear attack-or-defend mode can see all 128 players fighting over one objective as infantry and vehicles. Recently, DICE adjusted the amount of tickets that Attackers have in Breakthrough, but the mode still needs more work.

As a solution, DICE is “presently reviewing if it makes sense to keep Breakthrough as 128 players vs 64, or if we feel that a reduction of the total number of vehicles that can spawn ensures that their presence isn’t as overwhelming, and gives infantry players a more important role.” DICE currently has both 128-player and 64-player versions of Conquest and Breakthrough available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

Besides taking away a key feature for one of the game’s modes, DICE’s other solutions seem to involve moving and/or reducing the capture points in Breakthrough Large and Conquest Large. DICE published an example of how it’s prototyping a new layout for Kaleidoscope.

Improvements to current maps “will require substantial development time,” and not all maps will see improvements at once. Currently, DICE is targeting updates for Kaleidoscope to arrive with Season One, which was recently delayed into early summer.

Meanwhile, any future maps that come out will “be smaller in scale than most of our release maps.” Likewise, DICE is “thinking about changing the shape of the maps to give them more sense of direction,” ditching the series’ traditional square-shaped maps for a more rectangular shape that was “commonly used in some of our older entries.”

Players are still awaiting the arrival of Update 3.3, which promises to introduce an improved scoreboard, among other fixes. DICE recently announced that it will launch next week.

Battlefield 2042 is available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.