Battlefield 2042 was arguably the most disappointing release for EA and Dice in 2021. Launching without a single-player campaign, the game came with a myriad of bugs and was missing crucial features at release.
Such a poor launch led to a terrible reception, with many players revisiting older games like Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 1 soon after the disappointment. However, the modern era has proved that many games are capable of making a strong comeback after release.
It appears Battlefield 2042 has become another example of this trend, reaching over 100K concurrent players on Steam today.
Why it matters: Battlefield 2042 led to the franchise falling behind competition like Call of Duty. However, Dice has worked hard over the years, attempting to fix the game.
At the time of writing, nearly 40k players are active in the game, with Battlefield 2042 peaking at around 102K players in the past 24 hours. This figure puts it just a few thousand players behind the all-time highest concurrent player count on Steam.
Much of the first-person shooter’s current popularity can be attributed to a free trial. EA unlocked the game recently, making it free for all platforms till 16 October, possibly to compete with the Modern Warfare 3 beta.
While the player counts may seem unimpressive for a free trial, it is important to note this is not the first time EA has made the game free. Despite multiple free trials in the past, the game failed to gather a similar number of players.
Battlefield 2042 had an average player count of 15-20K concurrent players for the last two years. Therefore, this trial has marked the first time Dice’s latest release has crossed triple-digit concurrent player counts since release.
In addition to the free trial, EA has discounted the game. it is selling at a massive 84% price cut, providing a fine opportunity to jump into the latest rendition of Battlefield.
This discount has also allowed the game to climb to the top of Steam’s best-seller charts, which is no small feat after 2021’s disastrous launch.
EA has also begun work on the next Battlefield game. This release is expected to be a reimagining, leading to cautious optimism from fans of the franchise.
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[News Reporter]
Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.