Military shooter fans are excitedly waiting for the release of Battlefield 2042 later this year. Not only does the game take the series to a near-future setting, but it is also introducing some new game modes. This includes Battlefield 2042's Portal that allows players to make custom game modes with assets and gear from previous Battlefield games. However, there is another new game mode that just recently leaked known as Hazard Zone.
There is not a lot known about Hazard Zone yet, but if the leaks are accurate the mode will be something entirely new for the Battlefield series. However, what is known about Hazard Zone does make the game mode seem similar to another popular shooter: Escape From Tarkov. Escape From Tarkov is well known for its dedication to gritty realism, but Battlefield 2042 offering a similar game mode could provide an alternative that is much bigger in scale thanks to Battlefield's bigger teams and a higher budget. There will undoubtedly be many differences between Hazard Zone and Escape From Tarkov, but it could be an interesting new mode for the Battlefield series and a way to get a slightly more approachable experience similar to Escape From Tarkov.
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Escape From Tarkov's New Approach To Multiplayer Shooters
Escape From Tarkov tasks players with venturing into rundown sections of a Russian city to scavenge for gear and complete missions. Player exploration, however, is made difficult not only by computer enemies but other players as well. This makes runs in the game extremely tense, as a single bad step can put players in the sights of another player with a sniper. The game is made even more high stakes by the fact that players lose everything in their inventory upon death, which can set players back hours if they are still building up their inventory. This can make Escape From Tarkov a bit difficult for new players to get into, but the game has managed to build a sizable player base.
Escape From Tarkov also revolves around players repeating excursions into different maps to get better acquainted with them and build up their arsenal of equipment, ammunition, and weaponry. However, the game is always growing, with Escape From Tarkov recently announcing the new Streets map and promising many new features coming in the future. Escape From Tarkov's blend of computer enemies and PvP combat makes for a very unique gameplay experience that has put a new spin on online shooter multiplayer. Players can go multiple runs without ever running into another player, but the threat of doing so gives the game a unique type of tension. It's that same experience that it seems Hazard Zone is hoping to capture.
Everything We Know About Battlefield 2042's Leaked Hazard Zone
Information about Hazard Zone was first leaked recently by data miners who found code referencing the game mode. The mode seems to follow a similar structure to Escape From Tarkov with players teaming up in squads to venture into a map to find loot and extract before being killed and losing it all. The data miners also found that players will have objectives like collecting data drives and crashed satellites from around the map. Maps in the mode will reportedly also include points of interest where players and their squads can refill their ammo and purchase support items like vehicles or Battlefield 2042's cool robot dog. It seems that the mode is committing quite a bit to the formula, which could help give Battlefield 2042 an upper hand over its competition.
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While playing the mode players can also come across AI enemies such as enemy soldiers patrolling with a tank or even special AI bosses that players can hunt down for additional rewards. The data miners also released some information regarding different perks that players will be able to equip to help smooth out their experience like starting with armor or having insurance on one's loadout in case they die during a run. Players will also have to extract from the match similar to how players do in Escape From Tarkov. This requires players to call in extractions and make it to the vehicles before they leave. The data miners also found references to some sort of Hazard Zone currency, although they were not entirely sure of what it will be used for. It seems that Hazard Zone is taking quite a bit from Escape From Tarkov, and it is great to see Battlefield 2042 taking lessons from others shooters to make itself as good as possible.
What We Still Want to Know About Hazard Zone
With how much fans know about Battlefield 2042's other game modes, it will be very interesting to see how Hazard Zone fits into the game, especially in its progression systems. Escape From Tarkov's progression is managed by players looting or purchasing weapons that they can upgrade to use on later missions. With Battlefield 2042 also featuring multiplayer that is more traditional for the series, it seems unlikely that a player's progression between the two modes will be kept separate from one another. Otherwise, players could make loadouts of whatever they wished when jumping into Hazard Zone, which would require the mode to have a separate progression system of some kind that isn't players just unlocking weapons and gear that they could lose in the future. Of course, it also will be interesting to see how Battlefield 2042's specialists play into the mode, or if they are included at all.
One other big question regarding Hazard Zone is what maps the mode will let players play on. Battlefield 2042's map count at launch has been confirmed, but it is not entirely clear whether or not the game's main maps will be used for Hazard Zone as well. With maps from older games being added as part of Portal it is possible that players could also play on those maps, or that Hazard Zone will use smaller sections of bigger maps to better accommodate the decreased player count in the mode. Either way, it will be a delicate balance that DICE has to find to ensure that the maps aren't too big to always feel empty or too small that players are constantly finding one another. It will be very interesting to see what DICE says about Hazard Zone in the future.
Battlefield 2042 releases on October 22 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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