Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 2042 is the next big game in the series and will be releasing in October. An open beta test will be conducted before launch (with pre-orders receiving early access) but there will be a closed technical playtest coming sooner. DICE confirmed that this would go live in early July with the purpose of collecting “player feedback and intel from our Player Council, a group of Battlefield veterans we’re working with to provide insight on the game as launch approaches. This will all be done in a closed environment, under NDA.”
The plan is to showcase Orbital in Conquest with 128 players to test matchmaking, loading times and party/squad joining. Specialists like Boris, Falck, Casper and Mackay will also be available along with weapons like the M5A3 and AC42 assault rifles, the Ranger and vehicles like the F-35E Panther and MV38-Condor. The playtest will be running in a “grey box environment to achieve our development goals around server loads, player experience, and rendering performance.”
“The playtest will be different than those we’ve run in the past, and will be a grey box landscape for a few different reasons, like validating our back end systems and matchmaking.” Since it’s designed with specific technical goals in mind, the developer noted that it’s not a representation of the game’s current state. So if any footage happens to leak, it’s best not to think of it as the final product (or even close to the current product).
Rumors indicated that an alpha would be announced at EA Play Live on July 22nd and becoming available shortly after. DICE could have a closed alpha in the works for the same which is closer to the current build. We’ll have to wait for more details in the meantime.
Battlefield 2042 releases on October 22nd for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. The first gameplay footage will be showcased at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 13th.
