Battlefield 2042 Is Being 'Reworked' As An Apex Legends Clone
Remember when we thought Battlefield V was the lowest DICE's acclaimed shooter series could sink to - being just another WWII rehash we'd seen a million times before? What we wouldn't give to have that back instead of the lacklustre performance of Battlefield 2042 and its promise of destructible skyscrapers that never came to be.
To say Battlefield 2042 underperformed would be an understatement. It's no secret that its player base has tumbled since its October release, with more fans playing the nine-year-old Battlefield 4 than Battlefield 2042. EA has scrambled to keep this floating corpse alive, even adding microtransactions as a last-ditch attempt to claw back some money. Most of us had already buried the war-torn title, but be warned, this is far from the end.
EA Refuses To Let Battlefield 2042 Die
Despite whispers that EA has already moved on from Battlefield 2042 to focus on its inevitable sequel, EA CEO Andrew Wilson assured us it's doubling down on its efforts in a recent investors call. "We take a long view here," reiterated Wilson. "This is one of the great franchises of our industry, built by one of the great teams in the industry, and our expectations are it's going to continue to grow and be a really important part of our portfolio for many, many years to come."
In December, Battlefield 2042 was bolstered by the appointment of Vince Zampella as overlord of the franchise's name. Zampella is something of a big deal, with his credentials boasting him being CEO of Apex Legends studio Respawn and the co-creator of Call Of Duty. Hyping the "Zampella model", Wilson said, "We've got incredible leadership over at that team now, they're rethinking the development process from the ground up, and really using kind of the Vince Zampella-slash-Respawn model of 'get to the fun as quickly as possible'."
Although he doesn't namedrop Apex Legends itself, it's clear to see what Wilson is alluding to. Promising there's more to come from Battlefield 2042, he concluded, "I think there's still more work for us to do there and the team is committed to doing that work for the community, and beyond that, once we get to a place where we feel like we're in the right place with the core experience, and with the core game, then you should expect us to invest and grow beyond where the game is at today."
Is There Any Saving Battlefield 2042?
Painting a pretty picture of an Apex-inspired Battlefield 2042 is all well and good, but the figures speak for themselves. Even EA seems to be trying to bury the uglier side of the supposedly AAA game. In one worrying slide, EA listed all its live service games, with the likes of FIFA 22, Apex, and The Sims 4 making the cut. Battlefield 2042 was MIA, but weirdly, Battlefield V was here. It's possible it was missed because it hasn't had its first big update to be classed as a "live service" game, but something smells fishy here.
Although Apex Legends has made it big since February 2019, that's mainly down to its regular updates and season roadmaps similar to what we've seen from Fortnite. DICE hasn't even been able to deliver Battlefield 2042 Season 1 yet - with a hazy release of "summer 2022". At this point, we struggle to see how/if EA can turn Battlefield 2042 around. It might be best to just write this one off as an expensive mistake and pretend it never happened.
