Battlefield 2042 has only been out for a couple of months, but it’s apparently so broken that Steam is issuing refunds to those who ask for them. The launch of Battlefield 2042 was a buggy mess, and it seems like not much has improved since then. The fact that Steam is willing to issue refunds suggests that the bugs are much more than just simple graphical glitches or funny accidents.
Originally slated to launch in October of 2021, Battlefield 2042’s launch was postponed to November, with an open beta test in October instead. The open beta attracted millions of players, and the team at DICE put out a lengthy blog post afterward detailing everything it had learned from player feedback and what changes it would make to the game before launch. That one beta weekend may not have been enough, however, as Battlefield 2042 still launched with a long list of bugs. Gamers have voiced their frustrations on social media, of course, and some have gone so far as to ask for their money back, citing the game’s brokenness. While this sort of thing happens in isolated cases with many games, for Battlefield 2042, those decrying the bugs may have a legitimate grievance.
A report from Charlie Intel says that users who are asking for refunds on Steam are, in fact, getting them. Steam does offer refunds for most purchases, but only within fourteen days of the initial purchase and with a playtime of less than two hours. It seems that in the case of Battlefield 2042, Steam is willing to look past its requirements and grant refunds based on the buggy nature of the game. Some of the bugs in Battlefield 2042 are particularly bad, so it does make sense that gamers would want a refund for a game that, in some cases, they’ve been completely unable to play. It’s surprising that Steam is willing to bend its own rules to give refunds for the game, but that may speak to just how unplayable the game might be for some.
When games come out broken, oftentimes gamers respond by “review bombing,” or leaving a flood of bad reviews warning others to stay away from the game and bringing down its scores on reviews sites. While this has sometimes been done as a form of protest for certain DRM software, Battlefield 2042 is unquestionably full of bugs, so in this case the negative reviews may just be honest critiques of the game. Battlefield 2042 has become one of Steam's worst- is issuing refunds outside of its usual window for what is now one of Steam’s worst-reviewed games, then that serves to prove that Battlefield 2042 is, in fact, broken, and perhaps needed more development time.
The road for Battlefield 2042 certainly seems like a rocky one. Patches and updates have helped, but gamers are still angrily calling on the development team to fix the game, to the point that the Battlefield 2042 subreddit may be locked to stem the tide. Here’s hoping the dev team can find a way to satisfy demanding players and make Battlefield 2042 the game it should have been at launch.
Source: Charlie Intel