EA Confirms What We All Suspected About Battlefield 2042
With each passing day, things seem to get worse for "Battlefield 2042." The latest entry into EA's "Battlefield" series has received massive backlash from its longtime fans due to several issues involving bots, bugs, and everything in between. The title's many issues have resulted in a massive exodus of players as well, with the game peaking at over 100,000 concurrent players upon release, before falling to just over 5,000 as of late January (via SteamCharts). And it's not just regular players, either — even cheaters have abandoned the game for greener pastures in recent weeks. For a game as hyped up as it was, "Battlefield 2042" has been an unfortunate disappointment.
Having been rejected by players en masse, it seems that EA — the game's publisher — has also noticed that the game is in trouble. In a Q3 earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson talked specifically about "Battlefield 2042" and its reception among the gaming community. Though he called the game an "ambitious" effort from developer DICE, Wilson also confirmed what fans all suspected about "Battlefield 2042" when it comes to the final product that released in November.
Battlefield 2042 'did not meet expectations'
During this earnings call with investors, EA CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed that "Battlefield 2042" failed to meet the company's expectations post-launch. Wilson blamed the game's unfinished, buggy state on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout development on the title. "Developing this game with our teams working from home for nearly two years ultimately proved to be challenging," Wilson said (per IGN).
According to Wilson, the company truly thought the game was ready to be released to the public, thanks to thorough quality assurance testing. He added, "We launched with strong stability; however, as more players experienced the full game, it became clear there were unanticipated performance issues that we would need to address. Some of the design choices we made with the game also did not resonate with everyone in our community."
Because of the issues surrounding the game, Wilson said that EA has pushed back its first season of live service content until the summer. Instead, the company's primary focus will be on improving the game's quality in the interim. The call also noted that EA still enjoyed a very profitable 2021, despite "Battlefield 2042's" poor sales and player backlash. EA saw a net profit of $1.79 billion, thanks to the record-breaking launch of "FIFA 22" and the continued popularity of the free-to-play "Apex Legends".