Battlefield 2042 Headed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 10 November 2022 / 2,905 Views
Publisher Electronic Arts and developer DICE have announced Battlefield 2042 will be added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play with the launch of Season 3.
At this time there is no date for when Season 3 will start, however, it will add a new Specialist, a new map, reworks for Manifest and Breakaway, new hardware to add to the armory, and the return of classes to the game.
"We’re proud of the work that we’ve done over the past 12 months and so if you haven’t jumped in yet, starting in Season 3 we’ll be introducing Battlefield 2042 into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and making the game available for subscribers with EA Access," reads a blog post from EA.
"While in December, we’ll also have free access periods across all platforms. Experience the evolution and improvements we’ve brought to the game for yourself, and we look forward to welcoming you onto the Battlefield."
Read details on Season 3 below:
New Vault Weapons
At the start of Season 3, we’re bringing Bad Company 2’s XM8 into the LMG pool, alongside Battlefield 3’s A-91, with more Vault Weapons arriving in further updates during the Season. These classic weapons will sit alongside all new hardware that the team have developed for Season 3. Stay tuned for news on what they are, and how they’ll transform the Battlefield in the coming weeks.
Specialist Rework - Update 3.2
As we’ve finalized our work on Season 3, we’ve been able to lock down when you can expect to experience the overhaul that we’re bringing to Specialists, reintroducing Classes to Battlefield 2042. This big change will deploy in the early part of 2023, during the later half of Season 3 as part of Update 3.2.
In case you missed our most recent update on the Specialist rework, we’ve committed to the reintroduction of classes into the game, placing our Specialists within defined roles that see them gain access to a specialized set of gadgets and equipment that best suit their purpose on the Battlefield.
We’ve been testing these changes extensively, recently inviting folks from across the Battlefield community to play with us, and to share their immediate feedback on the changes and to help affirm that we’re headed in the right direction. With their help, we’ve been able to test the Weapon Proficiencies that we introduced as a result of your feedback, a system that enables us to retain the combat freedom we know you’ve come to appreciate playing the game your way, but better reward players who stick to more common archetypes of weapon and class combinations.
Here’s where we’re at with the weapon proficiencies that we have so far:
Assault - Assault Rifle Proficiency
- Assault Rifles are ready to fire quicker after sprinting
Engineer - Utility Proficiency
- Utility Weapons have improved reloading capabilities
Support - LMG Proficiency
- LMG’s have additional magazines and are more efficient when deploying bipods
Recon - Sniper Rifle Proficiency
- Faster to stabilize when holding breath, with longer hold breath durations
Using the feedback that you’ve shared, we’ve also switched Irish into the Support role, with Crawford swapping in as an Engineer. Irish will therefore take Crawfords current trait, reviving downed teammates with additional gadget ammunition, and we’ll be developing a new trait for Crawford that will allow him to better specialize as an Engineer.
We’ve also reviewed how it is that Rao best fits into the new system and are working on improved team and squad communication around this Specialist so he performs as a strong asset within the Recon Class. For more on those changes, be sure to check out our recent blog.
With Season 3 just on the horizon, we’ve another new Specialist to introduce to you, who will later go on to join the ranks of Assault. We look forward to you meeting them in the coming weeks.
Updating Manifest and Breakaway
We have 2 more map reworks coming your way during Season 3. With Update 3.1, you’ll receive an update to Manifest, and then alongside the Specialist rework in Update 3.2, look forward to a massive overhaul of Breakaway.
With Manifest, the team has reworked the map to bring it in line with the updates that you’ve already experienced with Kaleidoscope, Renewal, and Orbital - bringing the HQ flags closer to the action, and removing redundant playspace.
We’ve also worked to improve the visibility that you experience on this map, ensuring that our play spaces are better lit, and that your sightlines are improved when you’re scanning for enemies.
You’ll experience better cover, and improved pathing between the flags, with the flags themselves receiving careful attention that ensures that you can better focus your attack and defense when playing the objective.
Be sure to check out the preview of these changes in today's video, and look forward to a more detailed preview as we get closer to Update 3.1
In early 2023, we’ll return with a new and improved Breakaway, bringing a dramatic overhaul to the map which see’s us move the Oil Rig much closer to the action, and better focus our gameplay within a more refined playspace.
We’ve carefully reviewed the purpose of the Outlook flag and decided that we can create a more engaging round of Conquest without it, empowering us to consider how much of the playspace we should retain on top of the Glacier, and design new ways to play within the ice itself.
There are entire new flags for the map, as well as heavily reworked the Town and nearby Refineries to ensure that you’re able to move with more confidence between these flags when playing as infantry.
Ice and Snow shaders have also been reworked, helping to bring a new visual look to the map, and we’re excited to see you get hands on with this one in 2023.
Our work to bring map improvements will continue next year beyond these two changes and we’re excited to show you what we’re doing next.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
This is the game whose poor sales were blamed on Halo Infinite being a much better game.
Just sayin'
Well it did came out with a campaign and not that many bugs as far as I remember
And rightfully so
Yeah. Halo is much better. I'm just saying, what's to be excited about with this game?
Not much, but it is free so ill check it out for nothing
Great been wanting to play it. Im sure this will bring in many new players :-)
I actually forgot about this, which is never a good sign, anyone play it? How is it at the moment?
Should've headed there day one coz it was day one dead on arrival lol
Ok I was never going to buy it because there’s no campaign but for gamepass I’ll be happy with just multiplayer.
Essay Pro