Battlefield 2042: Release postponed, developers explain why

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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.

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

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. ”

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:

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 GamingShpeshal_Nick and Okami13:

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:

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?