The number of people playing Battlefield 2042 hit a new low with less than two thousand players Monday morning as the developers remain silent on fixing the game's issues. Since the game was released in November, players have pointed out the lack of gameplay options compared to previous entries in the Battlefield franchise. Missing features are not the only issue. Design choices and balancing issues have made enjoying the game 128-player battles challenging to enjoy.
One common complaint with Battlefield 2042 is the design choices with many of the game's gigantic maps. Players stuck without one of the game's vehicles would often need to traverse long distances across empty sections of the game's map before reaching an explosive shootout or one of the map's objectives. This issue became more apparent after the game's developer, DICE, introduced a 64-player Battlefield 2042 game type with a smaller map that managed to feel more balanced and exciting. Unfortunately, the gameplay, balance issues, and lack of developer roadmap for future content and fixes are having a severe effect on the game's player numbers.
During the morning of February 14th, Battlefield 2042 managed to hit its lowest player count on Steam with less than two thousand players, according to SteamCharts. Player and Reddit user Generalboiofbois pointed out the low player count on the game's subreddit. A player count that is almost half the number of players seen playing the franchise's previous entry, Battlefield 5. Electronic Arts and DICE have been relatively quiet on the game's social media platforms, which developers typically use after a game's launch to address fans' concerns and lay out a roadmap for fixes and exciting new features. News of the game's first season being delayed so that the developers may focus on adjusting Battlefield 2042's map designs and balancing issues is a step in the right direction. Still, if DICE wants players to log back into the game, something more needs to be done.
Many long-time Battlefield fans remember that each new game in the franchise often releases with a large number of problems that the developers fix with time. However, issues seem direr for BF 2042 than the franchise's previous entries. The latest game from the 20-year-old franchise has managed to become one of Steam's worst-reviewed games of all time. Fans have also rallied behind a petition demanding a refund for BF 2042. An amount of backlash not previously experienced in the Battlefield franchise.
There was a large amount of anticipation for the series return to a more modern setting previously seen in Battlefield 4. While BF 2042 is not the first game in the franchise to have a rough start, Battlefield 4 also had a massive amount of bugs and issues at launch. That title eventually received enough patches to fix the game and make it one of the series best. Many hope the same can be done for Battlefield 2042. Still, EA and DICE have successfully dug the Battlefield franchise into quite a hole. Many fans are beginning to wonder if the series will be able to find its way out.
Battlefield 2042 is available on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Sources: SteamCharts, Generalboiofbois/Reddit