COMMUNITY UPDATE - OPEN BETA DEBRIEF
Hello everyone, Thank you to everyone who joined us during the Battlefield 6 Open Beta weekends—your passion and feedback have been invaluable. With tens of thousands connecting on Discord to play together, over 600,000 hours streamed, and over 30 million hours watched, your enthusiasm and participation is what made it great! Initial Learnings and In-Game Changes As we approach the launch of Battlefield 6 on October 10, we’d like to take a moment to look back at the recent Open Beta to share our key learnings and in-game changes we’re making based on your feedback and in-game data. Weapons We’re making targeted adjustments to deliver a more consistent and rewarding gunplay experience. This includes a general pass on recoil and tap-fire characteristics across all weapons, further emphasizing their unique feel and improving range differentiation. We’ve also made changes to encourage more controlled tap-firing and burst-firing, rewarding precision and weapon mastery. Additionally, the M87A1 shotgun now requires more pellets to secure a kill. We are investigating the Time-to-Kill and Time-to-Death experiences, and we will share an update if definitive changes are made in these areas. Movement Movement mechanics have been adjusted to create a more balanced and traditional Battlefield experience. Momentum, especially horizontal speed, carried from a slide into a jump has been reduced. There is now a greater penalty for consecutive jumps, which lowers jump height when jumps are spammed. Firing while jumping or sliding will result in increased inaccuracy. These changes are designed to make sliding and jumping more situational, so they are no longer ideal options for engaging in gunfights, and will contribute to a gameplay pace that rewards skillful movement without becoming too fast or unpredictable. Parachute physics have also been re-tuned, with reduced initial acceleration when opening the parachute for more controlled aerial movement. Maps We observed some players finding a way to reach rooftops and venture out of bounds. This gameplay is not intended for these maps, and the upcoming ladder for the Assault class is also not designed to access these areas. We’re actively working on adjustments to prevent unintended access and ensure gameplay stays within the intended boundaries. We also heard strong feedback from players excited by the larger-scale maps that Battlefield has to offer. While the Open Beta featured smaller, more fast-paced maps, larger-scale maps are already part of our launch package, delivering action-packed gameplay and memorable, unique moments for every player. As part of the upcoming Battlefield Labs testing, we’ll be testing two new multiplayer maps: one set in Mirak Valley, the other a remake of the fan-favorite from Battlefield 3, Operation Firestorm. These two maps include the full complement of vehicles, like Liberation Peak, along with a more vast combat space. Modes When it comes to Rush, the conversation we observed wasn’t just about player count, but also about how maps play, and the tactical experience they offer. Rush is a mode with deep roots, originally known as Gold Rush in Bad Company, where matches typically ranged from 12v12 to 16v16 players. Many of you remember this as the golden era of Rush, and it continues to inspire our approach today. We’ve experimented with larger player counts over the years, such as 64- and even 128-player versions. While these matches created intense, fast-paced moments, they also led to issues: Overwhelming defenses, stalled frontlines, and too many games ending in the first sector. Rush is especially sensitive to higher player counts due to its tactical and strategic requirements; when a player tries to arm the M-COM while more than 20 opponents are defending, the intended gameplay becomes less tangible. Based on feedback throughout recent titles, we’re lowering the default player count for Rush to improve the flow of combat and restore the tactical, methodical experience that defines the mode. For those who enjoy large-scale Rush, Portal will allow you to experiment with different player counts at launch. In contrast, Breakthrough is designed to accommodate higher player counts of up to 64 players, and that’s where the mode really shines. Using win/loss data from the Open Beta, we’re continuing to make map-by-map balance adjustments towards our goal of 50/50 win ratio for both Attackers and Defenders. The Approach to Player Counts There was some confusion around the number of players in different games so we wanted to take a moment to clarify our current direction for how these get determined. Rather than locking maps and modes to a fixed player count, our philosophy is to adapt to best fit the intended experience. This may vary by map or evolve over time with player feedback. For example, at launch, some Breakthrough layouts will support 48 players, while others will have 64. It’s the one of many factors we adjust to create the right balance and feel for each scenario. In Breakthrough higher player counts work well on open, dynamic maps, while smaller player-groups offer a more focused experience on denser maps. Portal gives players the flexibility to try different settings and find what works best for their group and playstyle. Finding the right balance is an ongoing process as everyone gets familiar with map size, lanes, and combat spaces. For now, we’ve found that 8v8 provides a solid starting point for small-scale, fast-paced modes like Team Death Match, Squad Death Match, Domination, and KOTH. Playlist Options A limited variety of playlist options were created for the Open Beta to both showcase and test the flexibility of the matchmaking system. For more details on our playlist adjustments, see our post about Open Beta Week 2 Playlist Options. Playing with both Open and Closed Weapons will continue to be options in Battlefield 6 and we are looking for ways to keep them easily accessible. We recognize that some players experienced difficulty finding games to complete the Challenge of capturing sectors in Breakthrough or Rush. It wasn’t ideal and we’re actively using your feedback and in-game data to review and improve the Matchmaking system, with the goal of providing a smoother experience in the future. Reflecting on the Open Beta & Next Steps With the insights gathered during the Open Beta play sessions, we will be introducing in-game adjustments in upcoming Battlefield Labs events. Stay tuned for progress updates and future opportunities to get involved. Join our official Battlefield Discord server to talk more Battlefield, share feedback, and find squadmates. Lastly, thanks again for joining the Battlefield 6 Open Beta. Your feedback and participation made it an incredible experience. //The Battlefield Team This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible. Originally posted on ea.com on 21/08/2025BATTLEFIELD 2042 UPDATE #9.2.0
Today we have a surprise Battlefield 2042 Update for you, as we are releasing 9.2 on all platforms. Not only are you getting new weapons and vehicles, a bunch of bug fixes and gameplay changes, but we’re also bringing back a fan favorite of previous Battlefield titles, Iwo Jima! Of course an update like this wouldn’t be complete without a brand new, free Battlepass. But that’s not all! Playing the content of Update 9.2 will also allow you to unlock exclusive Battlefield 6 rewards! The road to Battlefield 6 begins here. Let’s dig in! //The Battlefield Team Community Calendar Discover various Community Events, Featured Experiences, and Double XP moments on Battlefield 2042 via our frequently updated Community Calendar. Stay Informed Follow us on Reddit and @Battlefield to stay informed on the latest news, and @BattlefieldComm for the rollout of updates and other live service changes. Join the official Battlefield Discord server over at discord.gg/Battlefield. Road to Battlefield 6 New Map: Iwo Jima Brand new to Battlefield 2042, Iwo Jima is a fan favorite previously seen in Battlefield 1942,Battlefield 1943, and Battlefield V. In Battlefield 2042 the map will feature an active Volcano, so be on the lookout for some spectacle when you explore Iwo Jima. To really immerse you, the map also features boat landings, bunkers, and trenches on a reimagined 700x200 map that will give you plenty of options to flex your tactical muscles. Hardware Update 9.2 will add two weapons and two vault vehicles to your arsenal. Weapons: KFS2000 - Assault Rifle A formidable assault rifle with an iconic look. Thanks to its bullpup design the KFS2000 is highly accurate and easier to control making it an excellent choice for most combat scenarios. Lynx - Sniper Rifle If you joined us during the Battlefield 6 Open Beta, you will receive the Lynx with Update 9.2. Players that didn’t participate in the Beta will still have a chance to acquire the weapon later down the line. The Lynx is a vicious semi automatic anti material rifle with a respectable rate of fire. It houses a very large cartridge mainly intended to demolish environments and deal damage to vehicles. Vehicles: A10 Warthog and SU-25TM Frogfoot We also have two new Attack Jets coming to All out Warfare, the A 10 Warthog and the SU25-TM Frogfoot! With new and tweaked abilities, they'll fly into your roster with ease. With the added abilities, the team has diversified their position in the roster, and both Jets are configured to be vehicle busters! A10 Warthog SU-25TM Frogfoot Free Battlepass - 60 Tiers of free cosmetics The Road to Battlefield Battlepass will run from August 18 to October 7, which gives you plenty of time to unlock the 60 free tiers that arrive with Update 9.2! The pass celebrates different eras of the Battlefield franchise, with cosmetics inspired by the legacy of the games that came before Battlefield 2042. 60 free tiers Over 50 new rewards inspired by Battlefield 1, Battlefield V, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, and Battlefield 4. We’ve added several Tiers that will grant you multiple items, get your loot! 30 exclusive rewards for Battlefield 6 spread across 6 Tiers that will be available at launch. Earn these exclusive Battlefield 6 rewards at Tier 8, 19, 30, 40, 49, and 60 of the Free Battlepass! Originally posted on the Battlefield Comms X profile 18/08/2025Lock and Load for the Battlefield 6 Open Beta
Drop into the Open Beta This is your shot to jump in early, squad up, and rack up rewards before launch. Whether you’re a battle-hardened veteran or hitting the frontlines for the first time, this is your chance to make your mark in the most expansive Battlefield Open Beta ever. Our Open Beta has a number of maps, modes, and features for you to try across these two weekends, including the opportunity to play with Closed Weapons. Open Beta schedule Get to the frontline. Battlefield’s biggest Open Beta ever goes LIVE for two weekends only, Aug 9-10 and 14-17. Watch select creators during today’s reveal stream on Twitch for a chance to join Early Access alongside our BF Labs squad, beginning Aug 7. Lock and load. How to play the Open Beta You can play Battlefield’s Open Beta on: PlayStation®5 Xbox Series X|S PC Steam Epic Games Store EA app You can pre-load the game as early as August 4 at 15:00 UTC (8AM PT) and start playing during the Open Beta Weekends: Early access opens on August 7 at 8:00 UTC (1AM PT) If you signed up for Battlefield Labs before July 31, you don’t need a code. Just log in with the EA Account you registered with Battlefield Labs. If you didn’t sign up for Battlefield Labs, you can watch select creators during the reveal streams beginning on July 31 on Twitch to unlock Early Access. EA Play Pro players will also receive early access to the Open Beta Weekend 1 opens on August 9 at 8:00 UTC (1AM PT) and closes August 11 at 8:00 UTC (1AM PT) No code needed, available to anyone Weekend 2 opens on August 14 at 8:00 UTC (1AM PT) and closes August 17 at 8:00 UTC (1AM PT) No code needed, available to anyone You can play through the EA app on PC or any PlayStation®, Xbox, or Steam account that’s linked to your EA Account. You can find more info about the Open Beta over on EA.com, and chat with the community about it here on EA Forums. Make sure your EA Account is linked Before you get started, double-check that the EA app, Steam, PlayStation®, or Xbox account you plan to play on is linked to this EA Account—the one this email was sent to. Need help? Read this article on linking accounts or watch these video guides for PlayStation® and Xbox: How to Link Your EA Account to PlayStation® How to Link Your EA Account to Xbox Open Beta PC requirements Here are the minimum and recommended requirements to run Battlefield 6 on your PC You’ll also get a prompt to enable Secure Boot if you haven’t already – it’s a requirement to play the Open Beta. For guidance about Secure Boot, head over to our EA Help article. Our Anticheat system, EA Javelin Anticheat, has unique modifications designed to safeguard against cheats and hacks specific to the FPS space. Javelin has been built from the ground up by a team of veteran engineers and analysts focused on studying cheating problems for each specific game under EA’s umbrella and designing unique features to solve those issues. It is designed solely to protect against cheats within and outside of kernel mode.BATTLEFIELD 2042 UPDATE #8.9.0
Welcome to the 8.9.0 Update Notes for Battlefield 2042. Launching on Tuesday, June 17th, this patch arrives with a large amount of weapon changes, as well as various bug fixes. //The Battlefield Team Community Calendar Discover various Community Events, Featured Experiences, and Double XP moments on Battlefield 2042 via our frequently updated Community Calendar. Stay Informed Follow us on Reddit and @Battlefield to stay informed on the latest news, and @BattlefieldComm for the rollout of updates and other live service changes. Join the official Battlefield Discord server over at discord.gg/Battlefield. New Bundles: Mass Effect Galactic Bundle - 1750 BFC: Centuries from now and in the farthest reaches of space, a good soldier still makes all the difference. Take command and carve your legacy into the stars. Scoped & Dropped Bundle- 2000 BFC: Whether you’re tearing across the battlefield or shooting bottles with an old friend, you need the best gear in the galaxy to do the job right. Citadel Bundle - 3000 BFC: For those who take the fight to the farthest reaches of space, a special package containing all cosmetics for the Mass Effect crossover event. The bundles will be available from June 17 to Jul 1, 2025. Changelog Weapons: Developer comment: After the AN-94 launched earlier this year, it became clear that many of the vault weapons were a bit out of shape. To remedy that, we took on the task to apply some much-needed love, care, and CLP oil to a bunch of them. After that, we had the (easier) task of breaking half of them, fixing them again, and making sure we could ship them to you. We wanted to bring vault weapons up to par with similar weapons by increasing the attachment diversity and open up for more ways of playing with them. Most vault weapons have been given some extra attachments, and many had a few tweaks and fixes done as well. In this update, we introduce a new type of magazine attachment: the Underloaded Magazine. This is a standard issue mag but with fewer bullets in it, making it faster and easier to handle. The downside is that you have fewer rounds in a mag, of course, meaning you are sacrificing damage output over time for improved weapon handling. By adding this, we have one more way to play with standard ammo, in addition to the extended mag many of them already have or other ammo types. All in all, we're hoping this helps make the vault weapons more fun and more useful to play with. We’re looking forward to your feedback to having more attachment options to tinker with between respawns! ACW-R: Adjusted reload timing, making it faster so it matches the animation of the weapon. Added Underbarrel attachment: BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. A-91: Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded magazine. M416: Added Muzzle attachment: Shortened barrel (silenced) Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. AEK-971: Adjusted reload timing making it faster so it matches the animation of the weapon. Adjusted the position of several muzzle attachments slightly to better match the intended placement. Added Underbarrel attachment: BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. M16A3: Reduced starting ammo from 8 mags down to 5. Developer comment: We’re making this change to bring the weapon more in line with similar Assault Rifles Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. MTAR-21: Added Underbarrel attachment: BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. AKS-74u: Adjusted reload timing, making it faster so it matches the animation of the weapon. Added Muzzle attachment: Warhawk Compensator Added Underbarrel attachment: BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. P90: Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. PP-2000: Added Underbarrel attachment: LS-1 Laser Sight XM8 LMG: Adjusted PB heavy Suppressor to be a silenced Shortened Barrel instead, giving it higher Rate of Fire but lower Weapon Accuracy instead of better Muzzle Flash Visibility Reduction for worse Effective Range. It is still suppressed and reduces the projectile velocity just as before. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. Type 88 LMG Adjusted reload timing, making it faster so it matches the animation of the weapon. Increased default ammo capacity to 150 rounds per cassette. Developer comment: This change is meant to buff the weapon and create a bit of a niche for it to stand out versus similar machineguns. Fixed an issue that caused an incorrect foregrip behavior to be used. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Cassette. M240B Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Cassette. M60E4 Reduced the starting ammo from 5 cassettes to 3 Developer comment: This change is meant to bring the M60E4 in line with other similar LMGs. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Cassette. RPK-74M Reduced reload speed when using extended mag. Added Muzzle attachment. Wrapped Suppressor. Added Underbarrel attachment BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: High-Power Drum Magazine M39 EMR Added Underbarrel attachment BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. SVD: Added Underbarrel attachment BCG Light Grip. Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. GOL Sniper Magnum Added Underbarrel attachments: BCG Light Grip, Cobra Grip, LS-1 Laser Sight. Added Magazine attachments: Underloaded Magazine, Armor Piercing ammo, High-Power ammo. Fixed an issue where moving while aiming made the gun’s accuracy better than intended. MP443 Added Underbarrel attachment LS-1 Laser Sight. M93R Added Magazine attachment: Underloaded Magazine. General: Fixed an issue where some LMGs weren’t affected by longer reload times when using extended belts/cassettes/magazines. Developer comment: The M240B, M60E4, and Type 88 LMG are most affected by this change and are now in line with weapons using similar attachments. Switching between XM320 and M26 mass frag rounds will no longer break the ammo pool. Gadgets: Updated AA Missile reload animation when swapping weapons. RPK-74m: Fixed an issue where the rate of fire was shown as 700 when the actual rate was 720. Developer comment: This is purely a UI update; the fire rate hasn’t been adjusted. Progression: The lie has been exposed. Portal: Game modes have been added to Portal: Control Shutdown Strike Team Killswitch Developer comment: We have added several modes with all their maps that the modes support for players to host in Portal. Enjoy! Stadium has been added to Custom Conquest. Modes: Hazard Zone: Fixed a bug where vehicles could no longer be called in after picking up an Uplink. Gameplay Flow & Social: Fixed a bug where the inventory HUD would show the wrong attachments equipped on guns when going into the customization screen and customizing your gun for the next spawn, while already spawning in. Fixed an issue where Equip and View Bundle used the same button after purchasing a skin that is part of a bundle. Fixed off-centered icons in the Deploy Screen for certain languages. Fixed a bug where the friends list in-game would show the wrong game mode being played when in the Control game mode. Fixed a bug where the Xbox rich presence would show the wrong game mode when a friend played King of the Hill. Fixed a bug where no indicator on the friends list would show what mode friends were playing, preventing users from clicking and joining them via the friend list. That does it for the Update Notes for 8.9.0! Thank you for reading, and as always, PTFO! This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.IMPORTANT: Please read before posting about BF Labs or our 72 hour stress test.
Taking part in Battlefield Labs or the 72-Hour Pre-Alpha Server Performance Test is covered under an NDA, because of this, posting information about either of these in a public capacity does cause a violation of that so please respect the NDA. The purpose of this 72-hour test is to be a stress test, so there is no need to share your feedback or tech requests, as that is information that is already gathered passively from those who take part in the Battlefield Labs Program. If you are having issues with your key/access, please refer to your invite email, which has information on how to contact us for further help. If you are having any technical issues please keep trying over the 72 hour test and you may find that your issue has been resolved, please note that some things may not get resolved during the test, this is due to the requirement of a client update or specific downloads which could take longer than the event to release. You must install the Addon DLC on your respective platform in order to take part in the test You will receive an email that either contains a console key or, if on PC, the test will automatically appear in the library of the account you signed up for. Please read the information sent to you within your emails. If you received an RSVP email and secured your day, you will gradually be invited during the day you selected, not on the hour. If you have any questions around when you might expect to see your invite, refer to the EA Playtesting website for your timeframes. Patience is a virtue and the Battlefield team are working to resolve as much as they can - just by participating you are already helping considerably.
The Journey of Battlefield 2042 Continues
Hello there, We recently gave you an update on what to expect for the future of Battlefield™ 2042, and our transition away from regular Seasons. Now that we're nearing the end of Season 7, we’re back with a brief overview on what's next. Support for Battlefield 2042 will continue with regular game, balance, and Quality of Life updates, Portal highlights, and Friday Night Battlefield experiences. But today, we’re also here to tell you about new ways for you to play, through Vault Drops and events. Events - New and Returning Through our seven Seasons, we’ve seen you enjoy our events, such as the Arkangel Directive and fan-favorite mode Control. So we’ll be bringing them back as we rotate through past events, alongside returning rewards for those who missed them. This will start with the return of Leviathan Rising, later in July. We’re also going to be bringing new events to Battlefield 2042, over 4 weeks, with new ways to play, progression via an event pass*, with free and premium tiers, new cosmetics, and more. This first new event will be playable this coming Halloween period - stay tuned for more details. Vault Drops Vault Drops will be multi-week moments for you to unlock content in All-Out Warfare. You’ve seen us bring Battlefield Portal weapons across for use in All-Out Warfare. But we’ve heard you also want us to start doing that with vehicles… Vault Drops will start later in the year with a vehicle from Portal that we know you’ll be excited to get your hands on. These events will allow you to both try, and unlock the new hardware. Depending on the piece of hardware, it will come with Mastery, Attachments and Universal skins, and with additional balance changes to ensure their gameplay matches the existing All-Out Warfare roster. Community Calendar Our Community Calendar will continue to receive updates showcasing all of the weekly playlists and featured experiences that you can expect to play throughout the months ahead. We’ll be evolving it to include details on upcoming game updates, weekly missions, and new cosmetic bundles. And of course, we look forward to seeing you for more awesome Friday Night Battlefield sessions, where you can expect prime and chaotic Battlefield gameplay every week. We hope that this gives you a better understanding of what's next for Battlefield 2042. Thank you for playing, and we'll see you on the Battlefield! //The Battlefield 2042 team This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible. *Free Event Pass content requires gameplay to unlock. Premium content requires Premium Event Pass (sold separately) and gameplay to unlock.
Battlefield Briefing: The World of 2042
Battlefield™ 2042 is the next generation of the series’ exciting sandbox gameplay, containing three distinct multiplayer experiences. We’ve spoken about All-Out Warfare, and Battlefield Portal already, and we’re still to reveal Battlefield Hazard Zone, an all-new, high-stakes, squad-based game-type for the Battlefield franchise that we can’t wait to tell you about. But before we get to that, we’re going to be talking about the narrative of Battlefield 2042 and how we’re telling the story of that world. Multiplayer is the core of Battlefield, however, we’ll also be telling a compelling narrative through a new lens for the series. The World of 2042 will play a vital role in how we tell the story, and it's one we plan on unraveling over time. You'll learn more about the world through the eyes of the Specialists that you play as. Each one has their own story that connects them to our ongoing narrative, and to the world itself. Discoveries you make in the game will also expand upon the narrative, while stories that exist outside of the game itself will aid you in piecing together the pieces that make up the World of 2042. The world of Battlefield 2042 is chaos. Resources are dwindling as violent climate change takes hold and the United States and Russia are on the verge of war. As entire countries collapse, people find themselves with no nation to call home. These nomads are known as the Non-Patriated (“No-Pats”), a diverse group of people who have bound together in clusters across the globe in order to survive the turbulent new world. In Battlefield 2042, you’ll play as Non-Patriated soldiers with unique skills who’ve taken up arms. They are known as Specialists, tasked with carrying out military operations. In-game, each of these unique Specialists have their own specialty and trait that you can use to give yourself the advantage in combat. The World of 2042 has been ravaged by unpredictable and volatile weather. The city of Doha (AKA the map Hourglass) knows this all too well. Each map in Battlefield 2042 has its own story. For Hourglass, we wanted to tell the story of a city that’s not only been ravaged by sand but one where life has ground to a halt. Extreme conditions have become part of daily life for the citizens of Doha and you’ll see these highlighted throughout the map on advertisements informing citizens what they should do in the event of a storm. Lining the streets are signs detailing evacuation procedures. You’ll notice cars that have been left behind, in the process of being claimed by the sand their inhabitants were once trying to escape. Now they lie still, providing you with potential cover from enemy fire. Throughout your journey across the World of 2042, you may notice signs and logos on buildings and vehicles. Some of the organizations and businesses we’ve created for the world will be present in multiple maps. Within Hourglass you may notice logos of Synseco, an agricultural company based out of Egypt, featuring heavily on Renewal. What are the reasons for Synseco’s presence in Hourglass? Only time will tell. Other organizations you will encounter include Daesong Electronic and Four Sec, a private security company whose growth increased rapidly as the world plunged into turmoil. Some are quick to point out that they have the backing of numerous wealthy private investors, while American media outlets would likely call out their close ties to Russia. These are just a few of the fictional organizations that you will encounter in the World of 2042, with many being specific to various maps and geographical locations. As you make your way through Battlefield 2042’s maps, you may hear broadcasts from the America United News Network or you might hear the same story from the Russians’ point of view. Each of these voices aims to give you something to reflect upon and will help to give context to the events that are unfolding within the world we’re creating. Definitely keep an ear out... With Battlefield 2042, we’re dedicated to building an engaging world for you to experience. All of these in-game elements will help push our story forward, playing a part in building the puzzle that is the World of 2042. Look beyond the boundaries of the game, and you will find even more of those puzzle pieces. You know what the No-Pats are, but just who are they? How did they come to be? Why and how do they fight? This past week we published The Journey of the No-Pats, a multi-chapter narrative piece written by journalist Kayvan Bechir about his experiences while traveling with the No-Pats (as well as several Specialists) while the world’s nations fall to scarce resources, greed, and violent climate change. Alongside answering questions about the No-Pats’ fight for survival and how they operate, this piece takes readers on a journey through a series of locations across Battlefield 2042. Why is Doha drowning in sand? Bechir lays out the hard facts of the city’s failure to fend off desertification and the suffering of its people: bankruptcy, famine, and political strife, all culminating in a cataclysmic sandstorm assaulting an unprepared metropolis at the same time you’re waging war in the city streets. If you want to know more about what Doha and other locations you’ll be fighting across in Battlefield 2042, be sure to read The Journey of the No-Pats. At the conclusion of The Journey of the No-Pats, we released an original cinematic piece called Exodus that explored the final chapter of the story in greater detail and reintroduced an old friend. Battlefield™ 4’s Kimble “Irish” Graves returns in 2042 as one of the prominent leaders of the multi-factioned No-Pats and as a playable Specialist. Michael K. Williams, the original actor for Irish in Battlefield 4, has also returned to help bring the character to life once more. In Battlefield 2042, Irish finds himself at a crossroads with the mysterious Oz, another leader amongst the No-Pats. Irish wishes to tend to his people and keep them out of wars fought by the superpowers of the world. Oz stokes the flames of war, believing that the old world must burn for the new one to be born. Irish, as the leader of one of the groups of No-Pats, gives commands and expects them to be followed without question. He’s a man who’s been hardened by great loss who chooses to pay his respect to the fallen by using his skills to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. Class: Engineer Specialty: Fortification System Trait: Veteran As an Engineer, Irish is a great asset to any team. His specialty is the Fortification System, which allows him to place two separate items into the world – the DCS Deployable Cover and APS-36 Shootdown Sentinel. DCS Deployable cover You can place the cover on nearly any flat surface, creating a small protective barrier that allows your allies to see out through its bulletproof glass. This barrier can protect you and allies from incoming fire until its health pool is depleted. As Irish, you can place multiple covers on a map. Need to revive someone? Protect yourself against a sniper attack in the open? Hold the capture point for just a few more precious seconds? Using multiple covers, you can create your own small outposts to help you buy time. Obtaining some medical and ammo crates and teaming up with Boris and his SG-36 Sentry Gun will allow you to build your own castle-like fort. APS-36 Shootdown Sentinel The APS-36 is a rocket’s worst nightmare. Once placed into the world on nearly any flat surface, it eliminates incoming explosive projectiles within proximity (grenades, rockets, etc), turning a once deadly weapon into a puff of smoke. Placing the APS-36 next to a vehicle will give it automatic protection from incoming missiles while placing it behind cover can force the enemy to reposition in their attack. But beware: an EMP or savvy hack attack can put the system out of action. Veteran Irish’s Veteran trait allows him to dig in and stay alive. He will always spawn with a small amount of body armor that can be replenished whenever he collects dropped ammo packs from defeated foes. To celebrate the return of Irish, we are excited to announce that as an added incentive in pre-ordering Battlefield 2042, you will receive his exclusive Battle Hardened legendary skin. The Battle Hardened skin showcases the outfit he wears in the short film Exodus! In Battlefield 2042, we’ll be telling you stories in a new way for the franchise. We decided to sit down with the Narrative team at DICE to recap (and go a little bit more in-depth) into the World of 2042 and how we’ll be telling its story over time. Grab a drink, sit back and without any further ado - it’s over to the Narrative Team! Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at DICE? Justin Langley: Hello! My name is Justin Langley, I’m a Narrative Designer at DICE. I help develop the narrative for characters and game modes. Michael Hartin: Hi, like Justin, I’m also a Narrative Designer on Battlefield 2042 working on world-building elements. I focus on the physical world - that starts with the maps, but also goes into details like in-game organisations and media outlets. If it’s a map (say for example, a city) then I’m also responsible for what advertisements, and other world building elements, that are displayed there and what they can tell you about that location. Eric Holmes: Hi, I’m Eric Holmes, World Director on the game. I get to work with talented people like Justin, Michael Ben, and the rest of our team, and what we try to do as a group is contextualize everything in-game. So our work is ultimately about establishing and answering questions like Where are we? and What’s going on? And we’re also helping the Battlefield 2042 team at large do what they do. We work together as a narrative team, but we also have to function as a kind of network to the rest of the development team as well. In a lot of ways, narrative is something that helps tie all the different aspects together through context. Ben Walke: I’m a producer and I work closely with Eric, Justin, Mike and the rest of the Narrative team. In terms of what I do: I help solve problems, work on priorities and do my best to ensure we are always hitting the quality targets we set ourselves. There’s also a lot of wrangling and acting as a shepherd at times. In short, I try to make sure that the team has everything they need to deliver on the fantastic work they do. How did you start writing the narrative for Battlefield 2042? Langley: We started with the central theme of adaptation in the face of crisis. Knowing that we wanted it to be in the future it had to feel realistic and grounded, which is why we ended up in 2042.. Once a timeframe was chosen we began to look at the state of the world today. We started looking for things which seemed interesting to us and began to expand upon them. Always asking ourselves, where would that thing be in 10, 15, 20 years time? Once we hit that point, we then started diving into the ideas of certain kinds of events,if they continued, how would that change the world? We explored different avenues of how we wanted to approach that and what kind of things we wanted to do. What we found is that one event in the world, it’s a crisis; you only see it on the news for a few weeks. But when it’s multiple events happening all at once, everything becomes chaotic. It’s that chaos which creates a fun sandbox to play in, and pull from. It gave us a lot of opportunities to make the World of 2042 feel like it was changing — maybe for the better or in some cases, for the worse. One thing that is interesting to us is how one event can seem completely different when filtered through three entirely different perspectives. In the game we have Specialists, and they all come from varying backgrounds. Although they’re all aware of these events, some have different perspectives, and some of those perspectives might differ and there might be some conversation about that in the game as well. I think it’s important you get a lot of different voices on the ideas of these cataclysmic events because it’s so easy to get locked into a singular, superficial perspective. One of these things we’re trying to show here is that a broad spectrum of people are affected by the events in-game. And particularly with the No-Pats and the No-Pat Task Force you’ll be playing as, it’s about bringing those perspectives together and kind of unifying them to do something about it. And I think that’s a powerful message. Hartin: One of the interesting challenges was to go with the idea that the in-game outlets don’t have to tell the truth. There’s obviously a conflict between the United States and Russia but neither side has to tell you the truth about it. If they want you to align with their point of view, they’re definitely going to hide things that they don’t want you to know about. So there’s texture there that I find interesting. Holmes: I think we’re in a world right now where the media has never been more confusing in a global sense. Our sense of reality is diminished and there’s a cacophony of voices, and people finding their own truth. I think the real kind of genius of Michael’s work is that it lets you be in a vivid version of this game world. You can subscribe to different perspectives while you’re sharing a reality with other players because you’re on the ground seeing what’s happening. Langley: Exactly. That’s the most exciting part to me because you’ll hear these outlets talking about something and you’ll be able to look around, see what’s going on and say, “that’s not what’s happening at all.” But that’s the perspective they’re giving the general public, who isn’t there as an eyewitness like the player, which is a good allegory for a lot of military conflicts in the real world. That element just gives this a sort of touchstone of reality. Hartin: For example, we have the perspectives of the Americans, the perspective of the Russians, and then we also have a conspiracy outlet that has their own sort of fun perspective on everything. It’s a really different and fun way of storytelling since it’s all built into the level; you’ll find the narrative if you want to find it. If you’re less inclined to do that, you’ll just shoot the enemy team and move on. We tried to build the story in a discoverable sense. So, if you’re walking around the map… maybe keep your eyes and ears on alert for some visual and audio cues. What goes into building out the lore of a location and infusing it into the map? Langley: That can be determined by what kind of map it is and how big it is. If you’re doing something in a dense city, you really have to start digging for all those little road signs and shops. Everything in a city tells a story. Hartin: Yeah, exactly. The cities are some of the hardest ones. For example, on Hourglass you have the stadium, which has advertisements for events that never happened due to the city’s evacuation, like a soccer tournament coming up, a band performing, and so on. You need that to create a sense of immersion and reality. Walke: It’s definitely a task you don’t finish in one go either. We can’t say “Okay, we start today and within three months we’ve done it all.” A lot of the work continues to evolve over the production timeline of the map. Langley: And when it comes to sculpting characters and their backstories, we want to make sure these characters fit into the wider narrative but also in the minute-to-minute story. Michael and I take the elements and work together to make sure there’s some cross-pollination occurring. The end result is one where characters of the world don’t feel like they’re from a completely different world than the one they’re going to be fighting in. They belong here. It’s a lot of fun. How do you go about building new characters? Langley: Once we have a character design to work with, the next step is to ensure that the character fits into the world. We'll take a look at the timeline of events that we’ve put together and see if there are any natural points that pair up nicely with the new character. Some of these events are the ones you’ll see in-game, others you might not, while some might appear later in the game’s life. Our timeline is a narrative roadmap that we utilise to ensure that things fit authentically. We then start to consider the other characters we already have in the game. It’s also important that not only does any new character fit within the world, but they also need to have a good dynamic with our existing characters. Everyone is different in the world and we want to make sure we represent that aspect with different perspectives and personalities. Some people are aggressive, some people are friendly. Some are optimistic, others pessimistic. We want to create this broad range of characters that can play with one another in a dynamic way. Once these pieces start coming together we then begin to work at a more granular level on the character. What kind of personality do they have? We’ll start diving into their background, their histories, the country they’re from, their age. It ends up being a long time in spreadsheets and documents trying to map everything together. It’s important for us that none of our characters end up feeling like a stereotype. If anything, we try to break that stereotype where we can. We’re just trying to make the strongest character possible, and then presenting that in an interesting way. Walke: As an example, going back to the reactions from players first learning about the Specialist, Navin Rao. Seeing the validation from players from India or with an Indian background letting us know we’ve done this character justice and we’re not just leaning on stereotypes. It validates getting these characters right, and the importance of it. What are you most excited about for players to experience in this world? Langley: One of the things I think is the most fun is that because this takes place in a fictional future, I’m excited to see players explore that idea of What If and that they get to experience that. It was really fun to create that kind of fantasy for them to play in. I really hope they look at the map and wonder about the story behind it, the reality behind it. That What If factor is something I love to invoke in our players. Hartin: There are seven locations at launch but it’s a massive world that we’re in, with possibilities in every single location. My hope is that we capture our players’ imagination and they say “What’s happening at X or Y?” Because obviously we’ve thought a ton about what’s happening inside the world but I’d love to see more requests like “show us what’s happening at this location” and then having the chance to do that is what I’m most excited about. Holmes: It’s about creating a world with possibilities that you haven’t seen before. We have a blank page. We still want to have all the same value of previous Battlefield games: immersion and believability, but as a part of answering what we want on that page, we can surprise people in a new way. This world, this setting, what we’ve got going on in 2042 with our environments and characters lets us do things you haven’t seen before. And that’s exciting. Walke: For me, it’s going to be really exciting to see how players start to pull all our interconnected threads together as they play the game. I’ve always thought the best stories, and at least the best worlds are those that leave a little hidden behind the curtain. I like that we’re not coming out and saying everything. You’re not going to load up the website and see a full wiki breakdown of the world, although I’m confident someone out there in the community is already working on this. As a narrative team, is there anything you’d like to say to the community? Walke: CT When? Or would that be BB When? In all seriousness though, we’ve seen the reactions within the community so far and the entire team has been blown away by them. Launch is getting ever closer and we can’t wait to step onto the battlefield with you all. From a narrative point of view, we’re incredibly excited to be telling the story of our world in 2042, the setting, characters and everything in between, we hope you enjoy it. That’s all for today. These past weeks we’ve given you a closer look into the World of 2042 with Journey of the No-Pats and the Exodus Short Film. The story will continue unfolding as we head into Battlefield 2042’s release and live service, and we can’t wait to see your reactions to the world we’ve built for you. Stay safe, No-Pats. REFERENCE TO A PARTICULAR MAKE, MODEL, MANUFACTURER, AND/OR VERSION OF WEAPON, GEAR OR VEHICLE IS FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY ONLY AND DOES NOT INDICATE ANY SPONSORSHIP OR ENDORSEMENT OF ANY TRADEMARK OWNEREA Anticheat and Battlefield 2042
Hello all, As part of our ongoing efforts to create a safe and fair experience for all players we're transitioning Battlefield™ 2042 over to EA anticheat with the launch of Season 6 in October. When we transition over to EA anticheat you won't notice anything different when logging in and playing, but this transition will enable our teams to be better equipped to find and remove players that don't play fair. When we say PTFO we also mean ensuring fair play across the Battlefield. The rollout of EA anticheat to Battlefield 2042 is part of this ongoing effort, and we'll continue making adjustments and improvements towards fair play. We've outlined a full FAQ for you below in case you have further questions. //The Battlefield Team FAQ What is EA anticheat? EA anticheat is a kernel-mode anti-cheat and anti-tamper solution developed in-house at Electronic Arts. PC cheat developers have increasingly moved into the kernel, so we need to have kernel-mode protections to ensure fair play and tackle PC cheat developers on an even playing field. As tech-inclined video gamers ourselves, it is important to us to make sure that any kernel anti-cheat included in our games acts with a strong focus on the privacy and security of our gamers that use a PC. Why are you moving to EA anticheat? Third party anti-cheat solutions are often opaque to our teams, and prevent us from implementing additional privacy controls or customizations that provide greater accuracy and granularity for EA-specific game modes. With EA anticheat we have full stack ownership of the security & privacy posture, so we can fix security issues as soon as they may arise. Why is kernel level anti-cheat needed? This varies on a game-by-game basis. For games that are highly competitive and contain many online modes such as Battlefield 2042, kernel-mode protection is absolutely vital. When cheat programs operate in kernel space, they can make their cheat functionally invisible to anti-cheat solutions that live in user-mode. Unfortunately, the last few years have seen a large increase in cheats and cheat techniques operating in kernel-mode, so the only reliable way to detect and block these is to continue to have our anti-cheat operate there as well. In addition to EA anticheat protecting our PC players from cheaters, our console players who match with PC opponents through Battlefield 2042’s cross-play features will also be protected from cheaters operating on PC platforms. Are the System Requirements for Battlefield 2042 changing? We still support Windows 10 and 11. Will EA anticheat degrade gameplay? No. We’ve conducted extensive internal and independent performance and stability assessments to ensure EA anticheat is as performant and lightweight as possible. EA anticheat will have negligible impact on your gameplay. Does EA anticheat run when I start my PC, or only when the game is running? EA anticheat only runs when a game with EA anticheat protection included is running. All anti-cheat processes shut down when the game does. Does EA anticheat stay on my PC if I uninstall Battlefield 2042? Can I uninstall it if I want? If you have uninstalled all of your EA games that have EA anticheat protection, EA anticheat will automatically uninstall and remove itself from your PC. It can also be manually uninstalled by you at any time you choose and will be completely removed from your PC. Please note that if you uninstall EA anticheat , any games that require EA anticheat protection (like Battlefield 2042) will not be playable until EA anticheat is reinstalled. If you would like to reinstall EA anticheat we’ve made it as easy as possible to do so, with simple prompts in the game launch process. Does EA anticheat let EA see my browsing history, personal files, or things like that? Player privacy is a top concern of our Game Security & Anti-Cheat team - after all, we’re players as well! EA anticheat will only look at what it needs to for anti-cheat purposes in our games and we have limited the information EA anticheat collects. If you have a process on your PC that is trying to interact with our game, EA anticheat could see that and respond. However, everything else is off limits. EA anticheat does not gather any information about your browsing history, applications that are not connected to EA games, or anything that is not directly related to anti-cheat protection. We’ve worked with independent, 3rd party computer security and privacy services firms to ensure EA anticheat operates with data privacy top of mind. For the information that EA anticheat does collect, we strive to maintain privacy where possible through a cryptographic process called hashing to create unique identifiers and discard the original information. Overall, EA anticheat use of your computer and data collection is consistent with EA’s User Agreement and Privacy and Cookie Policy. How do I know that EA anticheat is not introducing any security vulnerabilities to my PC? Our Game Security & Anti-Cheat team is composed of some of the best security engineers in the world, and we are passionate about ensuring that our software does not cause any security vulnerabilities. Our anti-cheat engineering team performs daily testing and we continuously run security and penetration tests against EA anticheat internally. But don’t just trust our word on this. We’ve also worked with independent, 3rd party security and privacy assessors to validate EA anticheat does not degrade the security posture of your PC and to ensure strict data privacy boundaries. Although we’re confident that we’ve taken every possible precaution, we are monitoring and listening to any reports received to make sure that potential issues get addressed as quickly as possible. I think I found a security vulnerability with EA anticheat, who can I contact? If you believe you’ve found a vulnerability, please let us know by following our Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure process by emailing secure@ea.com right away. We take potential security issues seriously, and will work to fix them as quickly as we can. Where can I get help if I run into issues with EA anticheat? If you need help to install and troubleshoot EA anticheat on your PC then you can visit our EA Help page. This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.Battlefield 2042 - November Check-in
Hello there, As we work towards the release of our next 6.2 Game Update in early December, we wanted to check-in with a list of your current hot topics that are the top priority for our team to resolve. Black Screen during End of Round Some of you are currently benefiting from changes we've made for this issue with Update 6.1, but our work towards a resolution for the remaining reports continues. We're now working towards a resolution as part of Update 6.2 in early December which aims to resolve the majority of occurrences for you who are still experiencing it. As always, we will continue to monitor the situation closely once the Update goes live to make additional changes when we’re able to do so. Hit Registration Issues We’ve seen your comments about hits sometimes not registering. While a rare occurrence on most maps, this was particularly felt on some areas of Redacted during heightened moments of conflict where defensive gadgets are being stacked. Hang tight! The team has identified the cause and will include a fix in the next game update. Out of Bounds Combat on Redacted Thank you for your continued help in highlighting areas of Redacted where out of bounds combat could happen. This will also be addressed in the upcoming game update. Invisible Hardware No, the penguins haven’t stolen your hardware! We are aware that some of you occasionally experienced invisible hardware models, such as weapons. We can confirm that this is a client side issue which has no impact on the gameplay of those around you - they’ll still be able to see the models. We’ll also have a fix for this in this game update. Matchmaking with AI Soldiers As we’ve previously indicated on BattlefieldComm, we are aware that sometimes players are matchmaking into matches where AI Soldiers take up too many slots. While AI Soldiers will always be there to ensure that matches remain full, no matter the player count, we will continue to improve this experience over time. – Our work towards resolving these listed hot topics in Update 6.2 means we're skipping the smaller Quality of Life Update that would've normally taken place around this time, but we'll be back at the start of December with a full overview of changes via our patch notes. In the meantime, keep an eye out for further news via BattlefieldComm. Lastly, we’re incredibly happy seeing so many of you join us during Season 6, and your continued feedback and highlighting of improvement areas to us! //The Battlefield Team
Battlefield's Commitment to Positive Play
Our community is the core of Battlefield and we’re excited by how much it’s grown since we first released Battlefield 1942, nearly 20 years ago. With Battlefield 2042, we’re strengthening our commitment to ensuring Battlefield remains a welcoming experience that encourages Positive Play. As part of this commitment, we wanted to update you on the initiatives that we’re developing to ensure our community remains a positive space. We want you to be proud of being a part of the Battlefield community – a globally inclusive and diverse community where any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, or country of origin are welcome. For that reason we’ve created Community Guidelines outlining our expectations for members of our community that join us on the Battlefield: Treat Others as They Would Like to be Treated - Squad up and play the objective, together. We won’t tolerate players who negatively disrupt or engage in harmful behavior towards others. Keep Things Fair - Be on the right side of the fight. If you see players breaking the rules, report them. Share Appropriate Content - Don’t fight dirty. Make sure whatever content you’re sharing is appropriate for Battlefield players. Keep Things Honorable - Protect your squad. Keep it legal in Battlefield, and do not participate or encourage in dangerous or illegal activities. We take our commitment to Positive & Fair play seriously, and won’t tolerate bad actors on the Battlefield. As a community, we play the objective, together. Visit our website to read the full Battlefield Community Guidelines. Positive Play is about ensuring you’re able to refine your social experience while playing Battlefield 2042. This comes in the form of several tools and features to help you define that experience for yourself. You are able to block or unblock players in-game, ensuring they cannot message or voice chat with you. An in-game text profanity filter will always be active. The option to mute in-game text or chat is available. You can select to mute either individuals, or all players or chat. You can report a player directly from in-game, so that you don’t need to tab-out. Battlefield Portal will also offer players several admin tools such as the ability to apply persistent bans across Community Experiences that you’ve created. We ask you to be on the right side of the fight when it comes to keeping things fair. If you see players breaking the rules, report them so we can investigate. It helps maintain a healthy community and we appreciate your help. With Battlefield 2042, we’ve streamlined our reporting process to make it more efficient so you can report the player and get back to the game. To make sure you understand the different reporting tools that will be available to you, we’ve outlined them here: In-game Reporting a player is faster than in previous Battlefield titles, and can now be done directly in-game as follows: From the Player and Squad List or Social Menu, select the player you wish to report Select Report Select the reason for your report Abusive Text Chat, Abusive Voice Chat, Cheating/Exploiting, Gameplay Sabotage, Offensive Player Name, or Harassment Select Send Report You can add an optional comment if necessary EA Help If for any reason you can’t report in-game or need to report something that happened online, you can also give us the details on EA Help: Click Contact Us from any page on EA Help. We recommend logging in to your EA Account. Select your Product. Select your Platform. For Topic, select Report concerns or harassment. For Issue, choose from Real-life threat, Report player, or Report website. From here, you’ll open a webform to let us know more about what happened. Xbox and PlayStation® If another player has sent you harassing messages in a chat or voice on Xbox or PlayStation®, you can report them directly to PlayStation and Xbox. Find out how to do that on their websites: PlayStation™ Network - How to report inappropriate behavior. Xbox Live - How to file a complaint to report a player. So you reported a cheater, what happens next? You told us it was unclear what happens next when you report a cheater. So we’ve made a few changes for Battlefield 2042 to ensure you’re kept in the loop once you’ve submitted your report: If you report a cheater, we’ll let you know in-game that we’ve received your report. If we’ve taken action based on that report, we’ll let you know via email that action was taken on the cheater. Ensuring Fair Play for anyone that steps onto the Battlefield is something we take seriously at DICE. In short, that means we don’t tolerate cheating, and we have teams dedicated to preventing, identifying, and sanctioning cheaters. In Battlefield 2042 our first approach to ensuring Fair Play is that we’ll use Easy-Anti Cheat (EAC) as our anti-cheat tool of choice. EAC already has a proven track record in identifying cheaters, such as within Apex Legends and STAR WARS™: Squadrons. It is also proven to be effective in ensuring your privacy, and security. Another change for Battlefield 2042 is that due to cross-play functionality, when a cheater is sanctioned it will cause them to be instantly disconnected mid-match and permanently banned across all platforms. As before, we still have the ability to apply IP and hardware bans if necessary. To keep our community a fair place, we have a no tolerance rule in place. There are no warnings and no suspensions when it comes to cheating. If you don’t play by the rules, you’re out. Any actions made on your account can be appealed via EA Help. Lastly, ensuring Fair Play and combating modern cheating solutions is an ongoing commitment that doesn’t end at launch. While not always visible to you as a player, this means that post launch we’ll continue to invest in developing internal capabilities and technologies that augment 3rd party anti-cheat solutions, provide multiple layers of defense, and ensure our games are fair and fun for everyone. Easy Anti-Cheat will be in place for both the Open Beta from October 6th to October 10th, and for the full release of Battlefield 2042 this November. Console - Mouse & Keyboard Support We’ve heard your questions about mouse and keyboard support for consoles. We can confirm that we won’t be supporting this on consoles at the launch of Battlefield 2042, but we are still investigating the various options about making that available, and how it may impact cross-play. If that ever changes, you’ll hear it from us first. Lastly, we’d like to reiterate that Positive Play is an ongoing commitment which we’ll continue to work on when Battlefield 2042 launches on November 19. If you have any further feedback, we’d love to hear from you. Stay safe, No-Pats.
