Developer DICE and publisher EA today announced that there will be no more seasons of content for Battlefield 2042.
After seven seasons of content and numerous updates that fundamentally altered the game for the better, Battlefield 2042’s troubled lifecycle is coming to an end. DICE and EA today confirmed the news via ablog post. Season 7: Turning Point, which launched last month, will be the final season of content as DICE turns the page and prepares to the future.
While we’ve enjoyed and are proud of creating these seasons of additional content for Battlefield 2042, it is now necessary for us to turn from the present to the future. What this ultimately means is that Season 7 will serve as the final season for Battlefield 2042. After Season 7 concludes, we will continue to support the game with new in-game challenges, events, modes, and of course, ongoing maintenance, but we are moving away from delivering official seasons.
We know this news may be disappointing. However, as we looked at what the future of the series required, it became clear it was time for us to shift our resources and focus to be fully dedicated to what comes next.
-Byron Beede, General Manager, Battlefield
Battlefield 2042 launched in November 2021 in an extremely rough state. Held together by duct tape, the game barely functioned at release nor did it play like a Battlefield game. Gone were the squad and classes of the past and in their place were Specialists and mechanics that felt like trend-chasing. Despite lackluster sales, DICE doubled down to fix the game, revamp the launch maps and reintegrate core Battlefield mechanics into the experience. They released the promised four seasons of content and then released an additional three seasons, each of which included new maps, weapons and gadgets.
Battlefield 2042’s redemption arc wasn’t perfect. While DICE did do a fantastic job, criticism was still aimed at the developers for the lack of content (one map per season), controversial balance and recoil changes, and the frequent delays between Seasons. On top of that, DICE never offered additional support to the beloved Portal mode and quickly abandoned Hazard Zone.
EA, Motive Studios Announce New Iron Man Game, Teases Additional Marvel Projects
Motive Studios joins the battle
EA and DICE also revealed that Montreal-based Motive Studios willhelp develop the next Battlefield game. It is likely they’ll help develop the campaign after the closure of Ridgeline Games as well as their experience in developing campaign-focused titles (Star Wars: Squadrons, Dead Space Remake). The studio also made clear that its upcoming Iron Man project is still in development:
The directors who delivered our Dead Space remake in 2023, Philippe Ducharme (Executive Producer) and Roman Campos-Oriola (Creative Director), will build a team at Motive to work alongside the Battlefield studios around the world creating what’s next for Battlefield– a universe across both multiplayer and single-player experiences. Their proven expertise in storytelling, immersive battles and developing on the Frostbite engine uniquely positions them to help advance the vision for Battlefield, led by Vince Zampella (EVP, Group GM of Respawn and Battlefield) and Byron Beede (SVP, GM Battlefield).
In parallel, development continues to move forward on our Iron Man project, led by Olivier Proulx (Executive Producer) and Ian Frazier (Creative Director). The team made excellent progress this year, hitting a major internal milestone and laying a robust foundation for the journey ahead. Iron Man is an important priority for Motive, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve accomplished so far.
-Patrick Klaus, General Manager
An uphill climb
DICE and company’s next Battlefield project will face an uphill climb no matter which studios are working on the project. After two back-to-back launch failures in Battlefields V and 2042, plus the continued anger over EA pulling support for Star Wars Battlefront II, DICE has to deliver at launch this time around. Hopefully, we’ll get some word about the next entry in the Battlefield franchise in the near future.
