EA has officially announced Battlefield 2042, the next iteration in DICE's multiplayer first-person shooter franchise. The game will be released on October 22nd for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X. Pre-orders are already open, granting users early access to the pre-launch Open Beta event as well as the Baku ACB-90 melee takedown knife, the Mr. Chompy Epic Weapon Charm, and the Landfall player card background and Old Guard tag.
As usual these days with most games, Battlefield 2042 will be available in three different editions. The standard one will be priced at $59.99 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while the price for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X goes up to $69.99; the Gold Edition is priced at $89.99 for PC and $99.99 on consoles; the Ultimate Edition is priced at $89.99 on PC and $99.99 on consoles.
The Gold and Ultimate Edition will also allow for a seven-day early access to the game, which means pre-order customers who pick these editions will start playing on October 15th. In addition to that, both Gold and Ultimate come with the Year 1 Pass (4 Specialists, 4 Battle Passes, and 3 Epic Skin Bundles), and the Cross-Gen Bundle (essentially allowing PS4 players to upgrade to PS5 and Xbox One players to upgrade to Xbox Series S|X). The Ultimate Edition will also include the so-called Midnight Ultimate bundle (featuring the Shadow Stalker Legendary Outfit, the Obsidian Legendary Weapon Skin, and the Onyx Legendary Vehicle Skin), the Official Digital Artbook, and the Exclusive Digital Soundtrack.
Battlefield 2042 will support 128 players for the first time in the franchise, though only on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. However, it won't have any single player campaign unlike most of its predecessors.
Oskar Gabrielson, General Manager of DICE, said:
Battlefield 2042 is an evolution of the franchise and embraces what our players want - the ultimate Battlefield multiplayer sandbox with intense combat and a ton of incredible, unexpected events. All of us across DICE in Stockholm, DICE LA, Criterion and EA Gothenburg have had so much fun developing this game and now it’s time to let players jump in. What they’ll find is that we’ve built three distinct, absolutely epic experiences that we think they’ll love.
Below is the official setting overview. For much more about the game itself, check out the massive preview we've published after attending a remote press event with DICE.
In Battlefield 2042, the world is on the brink. Shortages of food, energy and clean water have led to dozens of failed nations, creating the greatest refugee crisis in human history. Among these Non-Patriated, or No-Pats, are families, farmers, engineers - and even soldiers. Amidst this crisis, the United States and Russia draw the world into an all-out war. No-Pat Specialists join both sides, not fighting for a flag, but for the future of the Non-Patriated in this new world.
