The rumours are true: Battlefield 2042 won’t actually be released until November 2021 after all.
Update: September 15, 22:30: Now it’s official, Battlefield 2042 will not be released on October 22 as planned. The new release date is now 19 November 2021, exactly four weeks later. Shortly before, rumours about a postponement had been piling up on the net.
An update from the Battlefield team pic.twitter.com/K53VNM2tTz
— Battlefield (@Battlefield) September 15, 2021
The official statement: DICE cites “unforeseen challenges due to the global pandemic” as the reason. It was hoped that all developers would be back in the office at this time. However, due to the current situation, this is not feasible. Therefore, additional time is needed in order to achieve the company’s own goals and demands.
And what about the beta? Until now, the period from 22nd to 24th September was considered the most likely launch date for the BF2042 beta. However, this was never confirmed by the official side. It is unclear whether the internal plans have changed due to the release postponement. The manufacturer says that new information on the open beta will be announced at the end of September. According to the usually very well-informed insider Tom Henderson, the beta will now start on 6 October.
What do the developers say? On Twitter, several developers commented personally on the postponement of their game. UX designer Nathalie Ek writes that developing a spec from home was easier than expected, but releasing it from home is much harder
Developing a game from home was easier than I expected. Releasing a game from home was a lot harder!
Not being able to feel that “let’s get shit done” atmosphere you get at the office is tough & makes it a lot harder both personally & as a team.
Now, let’s get shit done! ❤️ https://t.co/zxlaDAX1bu
— Nathalie 'Nat0' Ek (@Nat0_o) September 16, 2021
The “let’s-get-it-on” mood just doesn’t happen if you’re not there with your colleagues. The Game Designer Frederik Drabert comments: “We are working very hard on BF2042. The game is already a lot of fun, but needs more polish.”
And head of communications Andy McNamara is confident: “Today we got an extra month to make Battlefield 2042 better and no troll in the world can spoil my mood because of that. ”
Today we got one more month to make Battlefield 2042 better and no amount of trolls in my timeline is gonna bring me down.
— Andy McNamara (@TheRealAndyMc) September 15, 2021
Original report: rumours of postponement
Known leaker Tom Henderson confirms that he has heard of an impending postponement. However, according to him, Battlefield 2042 could still be released in November 2021 and thus only be delayed by a few weeks. The beta is still scheduled to launch on September 22, which has also not yet been officially confirmed:
#BATTLEFIELD2042 Delay Update:
To be delayed by several weeks and not months which conflicts with the other rumors, but it's what I've heard.
Late Nov 2021 is currently flying around.
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) September 15, 2021
Supposedly short-term release postponement
Where did the rumours come from? Several well-known leakers and insiders, who have proven to be quite reliable in the past, are reporting the alleged postponement on Twitter. Among them are YouTuber Dealer Gaming, Shpeshal_Nick and Okami13:
There are conflicting reports of #BATTLEFIELD2042 being delayed.
A small delay wouldn't surprise me, but I really hope we hear something official soon. pic.twitter.com/ovGJiY0kNE
— Okami Games (@Okami13_) September 15, 2021
How far should Battlefield be moved? Some sources are talking about a postponement to 2022, others assume that Battlefield will still be released this year and just slip back a few weeks.
Whether this could also have an impact on the open beta is not yet known. Shpeshal_Nick clarifies that he has only heard of a delay, which does not necessarily indicate 2022:
Yeah, hearing the same
— Nick (@Shpeshal_Nick) September 15, 2021
What are the arguments for this?
A short-term postponement wouldn’t be too surprising for many gamers, after EA and DICE are currently keeping a very low profile. The developers are probably not doing themselves any favours with this
For comparison: Call of Duty Vanguard will not be released until November, but has already been heavily advertised for weeks, starting several beta phases and publishing gameplay, showing pictures of the new maps and so on.
We’ve been hearing about internal delays in Battlefield 2042 for several weeks now, but we’ve never been able to verify or prove the reports.
What’s wrong with that?
A postponement at this point in time would be extremely short notice – especially if it affects the beta itself, which was supposed to take place in September. Because it would be extremely close to the release anyway: the first pre-orderers will be able to access the live servers of BF2042 as early as 15 October, according to the current plan.
Moving a beta less than a week before the start date is associated with an enormous logistical effort, since promotional material such as trailers, server infrastructure, press events & Co. must be organised in advance.
With a postponement to 2022, Battlefield 2042 would also miss out on the extremely lucrative Christmas business and thus also the typical release window of the Battlefield series (Battlefield 5, Battlefield 1, Battlefield 4 and Battlefield 3 all appeared in October or November).
Whether EA will make this decision should become clear in the near future – we’ll let you know as soon as there’s official info.
What do you think? Do you think a spontaneous postponement is realistic or do you think Battlefield will keep its target release date?
