EA denies claims that it has abandoned Battlefield 2042

This week, DICE and EA officially unveiled the first season of post-launch content for Battlefield 2042, ending a lengthy eight-month content drought. Unfortunately, the first season doesn't bring much, being limited to just one new map and a new specialist character. This sparked reports that DICE is slowly abandoning the game and shifting resources to the next project, but EA claims this is not the case.

Battlefield 2042: Zero Hour launches this week after a lengthy delay, introducing a new map set in the mountains known as Exposure, and a new Specialist known as Ewelina. The update also adds a new weapon and vehicle to the game, in addition to a full battle pass with paid and free tiers, filled with unlockable cosmetics.

Speaking on a podcast this week, industry reporter, Jeff Grubb, said due to the reception to the game, DICE is shifting resources away from Battlefield 2042, looking to deliver the required DLCs it promised before launch with as lean a team as possible. The move was described as EA “abandoning ship” on the game and leaving it to a skeleton crew to maintain.

EA of course responded to this, denying claims that the game is being abandoned. In a statement sent to Grubb after the podcast went live, an EA spokesperson said: “This isn’t untrue. There is a significant team across studios focused on evolving and improving the Battlefield 2042 experience for our players, and at the heart of that is our team at DICE. We are committed to the future of Battlefield 2042”.

Tom Henderson, who leaked a ton about Battlefield 2042 in the run up to its launch, criticised the statement, saying that the content offering in the game's first season does not show long-term commitment to turning the game around.

KitGuru Says: Battlefield 2042's first seasonal content offering sets a low bar for future seasons, so it does seem like EA is just trying to save face with this statement. 

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