Battlefield 2042 is one of the most hotly anticipated games of this year. The upcoming multiplayer FPS releases on November 19th. However, the game’s immanent Open Beta means fans don’t have to wait until next month to download EA and DICE’s next release.
Battlefield 2042 has an open beta launching on October 6th at midnight, but fans can preload the game today. However, only EA Play members and customers who preordered have the option to play as soon as the Beta goes live.
EA is releasing the Battlefield 2042 Beta in two phases. The Early Access phase begins at midnight Pacific Time and runs until October 7th. Only EA Play members and preorder customers can play the Early Access version. General Access begins October 8th, letting everyone else join the fight. Both phases are available on PC PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S.
Anyone who’s not interested in Early Access simply needs to preload the game and wait. However, those who are interested can preorder Battlefield 2042, play the Beta, and still have time to decide if they want to cancel. Most retailers won’t charge customers until closer to the game’s release date. That means there’s little risk in players trying the Beta for themselves.
The Battlefield 2042 beta gives fans access to the Orbital map, one of the locations featured in the E3 trailer. Set at a spaceport in French Giana, EA describes it as “A race against time and hostile conditions as you fight around the site of an imminent rocket launch.” The maps are reportedly much vaster than in previous Battlefield games and support a total of 128 players. The larger scale includes breaking the map into “sectors” that replace the capture points of previous Battlefield games.
The Open Beta will also let players try out four of Battlefield 2042’s playable Specialists. Each has a unique backstory and personality and brings various tools and tricks to the game. For example, Pytor “Boris” Guskovsky can deploy a sentry turret and mark targets for area control. Meanwhile, Specialist Maria Falck can heal allies and can revive teammates to full health.
Notably, Beta players will only have access to the Conquest game mode, with EA and DICE saving Breakthrough for the full release. Conquest offers a slightly tweaked version of the iconic territory-control gameplay that’s been with Battlefield since the beginning. As mentioned above, Battlefield 2042 replaces capture points with larger sectors. Each contains multiple flags that player will need to secure. This is a potentially interesting change, though it’s hard to say how it will work until after the Battlefield 2042 Beta goes live.
Battlefield 2042 releases on November 19th for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: EA