The next batch of games available to try during Xbox’s Free Play Days has been revealed, and one of the titles on offer is particularly head-turning. Released only a few weeks ago, EA and DICE’s Battlefield 2042 will be available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers to download and play from January 6 to January 9.
An initiative similar to Valve’s Steam Free Weekend specials, Microsoft routinely collaborates with developers of all sizes to give gamers a chance to experience games on which they may have initially missed out. Highlighting everything from major AAA releases to under-the-radar indie outings, there’s usually something for every type of player. With a new host of games to try more or less every weekend, the service is a great bonus for Xbox Live Gold members.
That said, it’s fairly rare to see games of Battlefield 2042’s caliber appear on the platform. Similar big-budget shooters like Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Borderlands 3 were made available during recent Free Play Days events, but they have both been out for more than two years at this point. Electronic Arts may be trying to get as many eyes on the new release as possible, but attention from the gaming community doesn’t seem to be something the title is lacking.
Battlefield 2042 is reportedly selling relatively well despite the negative appraisals from gamers. Shifting 4.23 million copies during its launch week, it overtook Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 4 in week-one sales, and it was only about half a million shy of Battlefield 3’s record sales mark. Still, Battlefield 2042 is entirely dependent on its online multiplayer, so offering it to gamers who are already subscribed to Microsoft’s online gaming service seems sensical.
Other games in the Battlefield franchise such as Battlefield V, Battlefield 1, and Battlefield 4 were offered sporadically during certain weekends in 2021, likely in the hopes that these titles would direct new players to the newest entry in the series, which debuted in November. However, Battlefield 2042 launched in a significantly less stable state than any of the titles previously offered during prior Free Play Days periods, and newcomers to the series may be turned away by the unpolished product pushed by Electronic Arts.
This may also be a move meant to inflate concurrent player numbers which have been falling rapidly in recent weeks. The game’s player base dropped significantly just two weeks after launch, and the publisher may feel that offering the game as part of Xbox’s free-to-play initiative may help to level out Battlefield’s now diminished community.