Battlefield 2042 had a disastrous launch making previous games like BFV seem better. Developers have been attempting to fix the newer title over a long period and by May 2023 the game was mostly fixed. However, despite such attempts, player reception has been poor to this date.
BF 2042 released back in 2021 and received a host of negative feedback for its poor optimization and lack of content. Moreover, the developers took almost two years to fix the game and make it presentable to fans. As of November 2023, the game has evolved quite a bit to please the player base and results are visible. Yet, that is still not enough for the title to redeem itself and most of the shooter player base is stuck on Battlefield V.
Battlefield V was released back in 2018 and has been five years since then and continues to overthrow BF 2042. During Steam Autumn Sale 2023, many players even purchased the earlier game instead of picking the latter one. This phenomenon is shocking as most shooter games obverse otherwise.
As per SteamDB, Battlefield 2042 saw a 24-hour peak with 47,300 players while BFV had almost double the amount of 90,759. Not only that, the previous hit from Electronic Arts even has more active players than the more recent title. This directly shows how much players prefer the older title more than BF 2042, despite being fixed.
However, things aren’t as bad as they used to be as players are slowly showing positive reception after recent sales. If DICE continues to do good work, there is a chance the newer game will be revived and saved from the backlashes. Also maybe there will be a time in the future when the game will have a greater number of players.
Battlefield V achieved what all those fixes of Battlefield 2042 could not
Battlefield V takes place during World War 2 and features weapons and combat vehicles from that era. The game was released in 2018 and the game was adopted well by the fans during that time. On the other hand, Battlefield 2042 takes place in the future, which allows the developers to create futuristic weaponry and gadgets. However, all these flashy features didn’t please fans, and most still stick to the older game.
This is happening for a variety of reasons which gives BFV an edge over BF 2042. One of the biggest reasons is the larger player base that allows them to enjoy the game without waiting. For instance, it has been reported that Asian regions find it impossible to find active lobbies in BF 2042, while BFV doesn’t face this issue in any region.
Furthermore, maps in Battlefield V are known for being more immersive and larger despite being old. The successor fails to have this charm and doesn’t feel inviting enough for the seasoned or newer players. Hence, even though BF 2042 has more maps than its predecessor, it has yet to earn the same kind of success.
Optimization is another issue faced by the latest game, as the previous title runs smoothly on modern systems despite being developed on the same engine. Many players avoid the latter game for this reason as well and instead prefer the previous title. Moreover, even though efforts have been made to improve it over time, some problems still persist.
Even though the developers did try to fix BF 2042, it seemed to be too little too late. This is problematic on EA’s side as the game isn’t being profitable at the moment, even after taking steps like free weekends to attract new players. Hence, if things continue to go this way, the game might become free-to-play as a last resort to improve its player base.
