Battlefield 2042 draws ever closer, and many players have even gotten a chance to play the game for themselves. While it's had its fair share of criticism, it does seem as though DICE is making a real effort to provide players with the classic Battlefield experience they love while still managing to keep things fresh. That desire to stay trendy may have been much larger during the game's early development, as one credible Battlefield leaker claims the new game was originally meant to be a battle royale that was heavily inspired by Apex Legends.
Obviously, Battlefield 2042 isn't a battle royale, but it will include a mode that is similar to that genre in some ways. October 14th promises new information about the game's Hazard Zone mode, which promises squad based gameplay that pushes the envelope of what players expect from a typical battle royale.
This leak comes from Tom Henderson, a games journalist that writes for sites like DualShockers, RealGamingIntel, and IGN. He purports that this claim comes from an employee at DICE, although he has refused to share more information in an effort to protect the anonymity of his informant. While that may seem suspicious to some, Henderson has predicted more than his fair share of Battlefield 2042 information. Notably, he even pinned a tweet made in May describing the upcoming game months before Battlefield 2042 was officially revealed at E3 2021.
Battlefield 2042 being a battle royale title may not have been too surprising for fans given the genre's popularity at the moment, but it is worth looking back at the battle royale mode from Battlefield 5, Firestorm. This gamemode was infamous among the community and generally regarded as a low spot in the franchise's history, so fans assumed that DICE would steer clear from it. It's also interesting to think that Apex Legends might have been a huge inspiration for the game, as many tend to relate the Battlefield franchise to Call of Duty instead.
Whatever the case may be, Battlefield 2042 instead attempts to maintain the series' identity. For those interested in its battle royale-like mode called Hazard Zone, more information will be made available on that in a matter of days. If Henderson's claim is true and the developer's held on to some of these sentiments throughout the game's development, it may even be somewhat reminiscent of Apex Legends in addition to the Battlefield franchise as a whole.
Battlefield 2042 releases on November 19th, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.