Battlefield 2042 is just one member of the trifecta of massive FPS games releasing this year, Halo Infinite and Call of Duty: Vanguard being the other two, but it still has a lot of hype behind it. With the Battlefield 2042 beta just around the corner, fans will soon have the opportunity to get a taste of what’s on offer before the game launches later this year. Unfortunately, there’s one big restriction for those looking to play with friends on other platforms during the beta.
As confirmed to Game Rant’s sister-site Screen Rant, the Battlefield 2042 beta won’t support cross-play parties, though the game will still feature cross-play at launch. The cross-play party detail is an important thing to keep in mind, however, as the Battlefield 2042 beta does still technically have crossplay enabled, players just can’t make crossplay parties with friends.
Essentially, this means that Battlefield 2042’s beta matchmaking will pool together players from separate platforms, but players won’t be able to create parties with their friends on other ecosystems. It’s an interesting restriction, though cross-play parties will be implemented by the time the full game rolls around. However, those that are caught between the generational divide will have their own cross-play woes to worry about.
Cross-play between consoles and PC will be restricted by generation for Battlefield 2042 due to the scope of the different versions of the game. The PS4 and Xbox One only support 64-player Battlefield 2042 matches on smaller versions of maps, so they’ll be restricted to playing with each other. Meanwhile, the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC support 128-player Battlefield 2042 matches on full-scale maps, so those platforms will be able to play together. It’s a bit complicated, but the reasoning is sound.
The beta is set to kick off on October 6 for those with an active EA Access subscription or a pre-order. Notably, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will also be allowed to play during the early access period, as the subscription includes EA Access on both Xbox consoles and PC. The Battlefield 2042 beta will open up to everyone on October 8, though, so it isn’t a huge difference. The beta is currently slated to end on October 9.
While it’s a bit disappointing that cross-play parties won’t be enabled during the beta, at least the feature will be enabled for day one. There are only a few weeks left until the game is fully available, so fans should be getting their fill before they know it.
Battlefield 2042 launches on November 19, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Screen Rant