Battlefield 2042: All You Need To Know About The Shooter's Next-Gen Action

Battlefield 2042 has finally arrived. Fans have long anticipated this next entry in the series as it promises to bring back features of old, integrated with brand-new game modes all wrapped up in glorious new graphics produced by DICE's Frostbite Engine.  

The intensity has never been greater, as in a series first Battlefield 2042 ups the concurrent player count for the seven brand-new maps for Xbox Series X/S, PC and PlayStation 5 from 64- to 128-player lobbies.*

These vast maps have you globetrotting around the world - from the searing heat of Renewal in Egypt to the blistering cold of Breakaway set in Antarctica. Be sure to dress appropriately as each location poses its unique terrain and climate hazards to contend with while the opposing forces seek to gain ground in various game modes.

Battlefield 2042

Fan-favourite Conquest and Breakthrough gameplay modes return, with Conquest being a series staple. It drops two teams down into one of the games' maps to capture and hold onto various sectors.

Breakthrough splits the roles into attackers and defenders. The aggressors must break down the enemy lines to complete their objectives, while the defenders must hold off the opposing forces until their tickets (reinforcements) run dry.

Battlefield's Hazard Zone is the newest experience introduced with 2042, which tasks you and your squad of three other teammates to retrieve Data Drives that are scattered across the map. This data is so vital that other opposing squads of real players have been assigned with the same mission to seek, retrieve and extract the data by any means necessary.

Once you retrieve the data, two limited-time extraction points pop up at random locations on the map, meaning only two squads can make it out of the game with data drives intact. Or potentially none at all in a particularly bloody stalemate of 'gimme my hard drive, bruv’.

Battlefield 2042

This high-stakes survival game mode ramps things up even more when you realise you only have one life to achieve your mission. Tensions will run high as each member will have to watch their sectors for enemy movement. If killed, you will have to spectate your team for the rest of the match. However, they can revive you if they find one of the game modes' Reinforcement Uplinks.

So why are these drives so critical? What is contained within? Turns out, it’s pretty crucial information that, when recovered, sees the player rewarded with Dark Market Credits. Squads can use these credits to kit out their Specialists with various perks and equipment to aid in subsequent Hazard Zone runs. Successful extractions can increase your Extraction Streak, enabling discounts and other benefits, and we all love a good bargain. Failure or death on a mission can reset this streak, so team communication and coordination are vital to succeeding in this mode.

Battlefield’s Hazard Zone will hopefully lead to a more tactical and cautious style of military gameplay compared to Battlefield 2042's more epic, air, land and sea offerings elsewhere.

Battlefield 2042 is like a return to form, an almost spiritual continuation to where things were left with Battlefield 4 back in 2013 – and it even brings back the fan-favourite character of Irish, alongside its overall return to a modern setting of grand-scale, action-packed virtual warfare.

Battlefield 2042

Joining Irish are nine other Specialists (find them all on the game’s official website) replacing the four character classes of previous entries. Each of the 10 Specialists brings their unique abilities to the frontlines in the hopes of allowing squads to make meaningful contributions to the enormous combat zones.

For instance, Sundance, the French operative, is equipped with a wingsuit that allows them to dive off buildings and fly through the skies over unsuspecting enemy troops. Angel, the Romanian Naval trooper, can revive downed allies more quickly than other operatives, restore their armour, replenish ammo, and call in care packages to allow teammates to change load-outs in the midst of battle.

Also returning to the fold is Levolution, first introduced in Battlefield 4 with the iconic Shanghai skyscraper crumbling to the ground. Now the Battlefield is everchanging! The game now incorporates full-scale, dynamic environmental events, from tornados to sandstorms that set out to disrupt gameplay – and craftier squads can use the carnage to their advantage. A helicopter wreaking havoc on ground troops will now have to struggle for control and visibility in the skies as the heavens open up in these real-time weather events.

Battlefield 2042

On top of the seven new maps, six classic fan-favourite maps from Battlefield of old make a comeback, from Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Battlefield 3. Yes, that's right, the busy port town of Arica Harbor is coming back in its new Frostbite Engine coat of paint now with its heightened player count and ability to be customised in the Battlefield Portal mode.

Battlefield Portal aims to take customisation to a new level, allowing players to tweak details using a powerful Builder tool, incorporating features and options from previous entries in the series. Creative players will have a blast matching old-school rules to new-generation maps.

Modes such as Team Deathmatch and Rush from Bad Company are accessible here, allowing those who harken back to nostalgic times to revisit that lust for mid-2000s carnage. The Builder allows you to craft a game mode that’s unique to you, and your Battlefield history.

Want to recreate a Rambo-esque scene where it's 50 players with knives vs one man and a minigun? Battlefield Portal has got you covered, and seeks to enable that fantasy with only a few button clicks and menu slides.

Expect to see your social timeline filled with all sorts of #OnlyinBattlefield moments due to this mode, and I predict live-streaming communities will jump at the chance to create fun and new gameplay styles for other Battlefield players to try out. Fifty-player versus 100-player hide and seek, anyone?

Battlefield 2042 is out now for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. *Xbox One and PlayStation 4 supports only 64 players; Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC supports up to 128 players; game mode dependant. Find more information and purchase links at the game’s official website.