Battlefield 2042 hasn’t really recovered from its botched launch, and the fact that developer DICE has had to spend the months since the game’s launch fixing it core pillars rather than being able to keep delivering new content to keep players engaged hasn’t exactly done it any favours- its dwindling player base and shelf live are more than enough proof of that.
After several delays, however, Battlefield 2042’s Season 1 is finally set to launch sometime in early June (unless it gets delayed again), and from a new map to the promise of further fixes to current modes (such as the recent removal of 128-player Breakthrough) to alterations being made to existing maps (starting with Kaleidoscope in Season 1, with Renewal being next in line sometime afterward), it seems like DICE is finally read to begin adding to the game, rather than fixing it.
But not all areas of the multiplayer shooter are going to be supported, it turns out. While the All-Out War multiplayer component and the community-driven Battlefield Portal mode will continue to be supported and receive new content, that won’t be the case with Hazard Zone, the PvPvE extraction-based mode that was first introduced with much fanfare when Battlefield 2042 launched late last year.
DICE confirmed the same in a recent development update video (which you can view below), explaining that fixes and patches will continue to keep an eye on Hazard Zone, but the mode won’t be getting any new content.
“We’re winding down future development on Hazard Zone,” the developer wrote in a post accompanying the development update. “All of us on the team had great ambition and high hopes for this new Battlefield experience throughout our development, but we’re the first to hold our hands up and acknowledge that it hasn’t found the right home in Battlefield 2042 and that we’ll benefit greatly from letting our focus and energy stay on the modes we see you engaging most with.
“Hazard Zone will stay as part of the experience, we’re not switching it off, but beyond addressing critical errors and odd behaviors that may appear in the future, we’re no longer actively developing new experiences or content for the mode, and you’ll find that maps that we release across our seasons will not be supported in Hazard Zone.”
While this isn’t a surprising development, considering the current state of Hazard Zone and Battlefield 2042 as a whole, it’s still somewhat disappointing. Hazard Zone was a solid idea on paper, and a PvPvE Escape from Tarkov-style mode definitely could have been something special, if it had been properly pulled off. Hopefully, DICE won’t give up on the idea entirely, and will go back to it sometime in the future to finally realize its potential.
Beyond that, it’ll be good for Battlefield fans to see that, as previously promised, EA and DICE aren’t just cutting their losses here, and actually seem committed to fixing and improving the game. Hopefully they’ll be able to see it through.
Battlefield 2042 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.