Battlefield 2042’s AI Soldiers Can’t be Used Offline, Won’t Outnumber Real Players

For the first time in the series, Battlefield 2042 will use bots or AI Soldiers in its multiplayer matches to help fill out matches. In a new Battlefield Briefing, senior design director Daniel Berlin clarified a few things about AI Soldiers. Though they’ll play the game much like an ordinary player, they can’t use Traits, Specialties and Wingsuits. They will capture objectives, call in vehicles and revive downed players.

Love ’em or hate ’em, players can’t opt out of AI Soldiers. However, there is a cap to how many can be in a match so you won’t see more of them than real players unless the match is still being filled. If a player leaves a match in progress, then an AI Soldier will replace them temporarily until another player joins. Matchmaking always prioritizes players over the AI Soldiers.

Given that bots are in the game and there’s a Solo mode, does that mean that players can effectively play offline? Since this is a “multiplayer-only experience”, that won’t be possible. You can play by yourself against AI Soldiers but the game will always be online. Battlefield 2042 is out on October 22nd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Though Berlin confirmed cross-platform play, previous gen (Xbox One, PS4) and current-gen players (Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC) have their own separate pools.