Battlefield 2042, the latest offering in the series from EA and DICE, has not been met with positive reception. While Battlefield 2042 is making a ton of changes with update 3, it still has a long way to go.
That said, it is clear that the team behind the game are putting effort into new additions and corrections for Battlefield 2042, though they may not have read the room correctly. This is evident in a recent, if accidental reveal of upcoming Christmas themed cosmetics that have some players up in arms.
In what seems to have been an accidental reveal, new Christmas skins for a tank, a gun, a helicopter, and a specialist were shown for Battlefield 2042. The specialist skin is for the demolitionist specialist Boris, and turns him into Father Winter, or more accurately, Santa Claus. The response has been immediate and very mixed, as some players think the skins are opposed to everything they love about Battlefield 2042 and other players think the first group needs to chill out. One reasonable complaint is that while Battlefield 2042 smoke grenades are breaking and hovercrafts are dominating everything, it's not the right time for festive skins.
The problems that players have with the skin are a bit varied, with the most common complaint being that it does not fit the tone of Battlefield games many players love. Granted, this is already a problem players have thanks to the lighthearted banter of the game's characters, but the addition of Santa Claus doesn't help much. The goofiness of the game does not, according to players, match the tone of Battlefield, or the tone promised by Battlefield 2042's promotional material. At this point the return of Portal XP to Battlefield 2042 might be a more welcome gift than new cosmetics.
Other players have pointed out that themed skins and a more lighthearted tone are not new to the Battlefield franchise, and that the comparison of the game to Fortnite crossovers are unwaranted. Besides, with players swiming through Battlefield 2042's air and the abovementioned lighthearted attitudes of its characters, things are already lighter than previous titles.
It's likely that this Christmas themed set of skins was prepared before the game's launch, since it was known it would still be new when Christmas rolled around, and the rollout was planned before Battlefield 2042's poor reception. Now, with Battlefield 2042's head of design gone and complaints pouring in, it may be best to focus on fixes rather than cosmetics.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.