Battlefield 2042 is preparing to drop a wide array of game modes when it releases on October 22, possibly including a Hazard Zone mode inspired by Escape From Tarkov. Game types traditional to the series like Conquest and Breakthrough will come packaged in the All-Out Warfare game mode, and will be supplemented by Portal, an ambitious project that combines remastered, classic Battlefield titles into a customizable playground. These two modes will possibly be joined by the third, as yet unrevealed mode called Hazard Zone, which allegedly works something like Escape From Tarkov.
Hazard Zone hasn't had any details officially disclosed, so any information on the mysterious game mode should be taken with a hefty grain of salt, since all that has been conjectured so far comes from rumored leaks and datamining. Possible leaks from June first pointed to the nature of Hazard Zone, and now more recent, datamined information supports the previously posited Escape From Tarkov similarities. Evidence of a Tarkov-like game mode coming to Battlefield 2042 is mounting, but nothing will be known for sure until Hazard Zone gets an official reveal.
Saying Hazard Zone is potentially inspired by Escape From Tarkov might mean nothing to those unfamiliar with the shooter, but the possibility points to something entirely new coming to Battlefield. Tarkov shares a somewhat niche gameplay genre with Hunt: Showdown, though the latter does not enjoy the same popularity as the former. Tarkov and Hunt fall somewhere between a battle royale and a looter shooter, but that descriptor is a bit reductive, and doesn't entirely describe the extent of their gameplay.
What Battlefield's Hazard Zone Being Inspired By Tarkov Could Imply
A key aspect of Escape From Tarkov (which has a much closer time period setting to Battlefield 2042 than Hunt) is item permanence. A gun brought into a game can be lost forever if the player doesn't survive. This creates an in-game economy in which weapons and items can be bought and sold. The actual games themselves require a player to go from their spawn point to an extraction on the other side of the map, looting and completing objectives along the way. Populating the map are not only AI enemies, but other players with similar objectives, leading to dynamic encounters where the cost of losing is an entire loadout.
According to the rumored leak by dataminer temporyal, this is roughly the overarching setup for Hazard Zone. Orbital, one of Battlefield 2042's new maps, is rumored to support this game mode, so conceivably more maps in the game could be altered as well. 2042 players will allegedly be inserted by a Little Bird helicopter into the map with a squad, and are tasked with retrieving intel from various locations. AI bosses could provide additional rewards, and other points of interest might be used to call in gadgets or vehicles. In order to escape the Hazard Zone with their loot, players will have to make their way to an extraction and be picked up by another Little Bird.
Hazard Zone will supposedly have its own currency, much like Tarkov, which will enable players to buy weapons and tactical upgrades. Said upgrades include "Loadout Insurance" to nullify the cost of death, and a variety of other buffs, like increased armor, faster healing, or the ability to retrieve more intel. Although nothing has been confirmed, Hazard Zone has the potential to capitalize on a fairly unsaturated market, and could prove to be a better idea than Battlefield V's Firestorm battle royale game mode was. The release date for Battlefield 2042 is steadily approaching, so concrete details on Hazard Zone and any further Escape From Tarkov links should theoretically be divulged in the coming weeks.
Source: temporyal/Twitter