Was Battlefield 2042 a Success? An In-Depth Investigation of What Went Wrong

Battlefield 2042 was one of the most anticipated first-person shooters of 2021. As the newest entry in EA DICE‘s long-running military combat series dating back to 2002, expectations were sky-high among franchise fans. Unfortunately, Battlefield 2042 ended up garnering lackluster reviews, losing over 70% of its player base within two months, and falling well short of sales projections.

This article takes an in-depth look at Battlefield 2042‘s troubled launch, the community backlash and criticisms, underwhelming sales figures, and what it means for the future of the franchise. Hopefully we can gain insights into how such a highly-funded AAA game with a devoted fanbase could go so wrong.

The Short Answer: No, Battlefield 2042 Was Not a Success

Let‘s start with the bottom line up front: Battlefield 2042 has been a failure for EA and DICE based on nearly every available metric:

• Metacritic average critic score of 72/100, User score of 2.3/10
• Sold an estimated 5-6 million copies versus projections of 15+ million
• Currently peaks around 2,000 concurrent players on Steam, far below older games
• EA admits sales fell short of expectations, stock price dropped over 18%
• Lost EA an estimated $100+ million in projected earnings
• Constant community criticisms around design choices, lack of content

For a tentpole AAA shooter from a massive publisher like Electronic Arts, these results are disastrous and unprecedented. While the game is still playable and has a core following, it‘s clear things went very wrong.

What the Critics and Players Are Saying

Battlefield 2042‘s Metacritic critic score of 72/100 is quite low for a major franchise release with a 90+ metacritic average historically. The real story is the user score of 2.3/10 based on over 75,000 reviews. This makes it one of the lowest user-rated games in Metacritic‘s history.

Many reviews call it "unfinished, unpolished, unfun" and express disappointment given the 3+ years of development time and pedigree of the Battlefield series. One Metacritic user summarizes common sentiments: "It just feels like a generic shooter now with gimmicky mechanics and forgettable maps."

Looking across Reddit, Steam, and YouTube, you‘ll find thousands of in-depth breakdowns from disappointed Battlefield veterans. The most common criticisms include:

Maps: Too open and lifeless with no sense of flow between capture points

Specialists: Lack distinct roles and teamplay, feel like CoD operators

Content: Just 22 weapons, only 7 maps at launch

Bugs/Performance: Frequent crashes, glitches, poor optimization

Features: Core expected features like scoreboard and voice chat missing

There are certainly some positives discussed like the high potential of Portal mode, but they are far outweighed by fundamental gameplay flaws.

Losing Over 70% of Players Within 2 Months

Perhaps the clearest sign of problems is Battlefield 2042‘s massive drop in player count following launch. According to publicly available Steam data, BF2042 peaked at over 100,000 concurrent players on launch day.

Just two weeks later it was down to around 20,000. By January it had dipped below 5,000. Today Battlefield 2042 struggles to maintain even 2,000 concurrent users on Steam, a 97% decline from peak.

For comparison Battlefield 4 from 2013 sees 15-20k players, Battlefield 1 has 5-10k, and even Battlefield V holds 3-4k. Whatever you think of review scores, this sharp player drop shows an obvious failure to retain players.

Significant Financial Loss and Shareholder Backlash

In EA‘s February 2022 earnings call, CFO Blake Jorgensen admitted Battlefield 2042 failed to meet expectations and would reduce net revenue by $200 million. With estimated development and marketing costs over $300 million, plus projected revenue of $600 million or more based on past game sales, EA likely lost over $100 million on Battlefield 2042.

Shareholders were understandably upset with the stock price dropping 18% after the earnings call. Many analysts placed direct blame on the poor reception of Battlefield. "It is clear that the failure of Battlefield 2042 has destroyed considerable shareholder value," said one Seeking Alpha contributor.

What Went Wrong for DICE?

This level of disappointment doesn‘t happen to a AAA shooter with a great track record overnight. Let‘s analyze some of the root causes behind Battlefield 2042‘s stumbles:

• Development Challenges: Launching during COVID pandemic meant remote development hurdles
• Frostbite Engine Issues: DICE‘s proprietary game engine led to bugs and delays
• Premature Launch: Clearly needed more time in the oven based on state at launch
• Lack of Content: Only 22 weapons and 7 maps meant it felt sparse and unfinished
• Clashing Design Vision: Specialists system and large maps didn‘t resonate with core fans
• Stiff Competition: Launched alongside Halo Infinite and CoD Vanguard

It‘s likely a combination of these factors that yielded a game failing to meet quality standards and missing the mark on appealing to franchise fans. While DICE has made some improvements, it seems clear Battlefield 2042 was mismanaged from the start.

What This Means for EA and the Future of Battlefield

Make no mistake – this failure will be remembered when the next Battlefield game launches. EA now faces a crisis of trust with longtime Battlefield players, and they need to carefully analyze what went wrong.

For Battlefield 2042 itself, it seems unlikely the game can bounce back from these struggles given the content delays and deeply-rooted gameplay issues. The potential silver lining is Battlefield Portal and what lessons EA can learn about satisfying Battlefield‘s core community in future installments.

If EA wants to get the franchise back on track, they would do well to double down on the authenticity, teamplay, level design, and gritty feel of games like Battlefield 3 and Bad Company 2 that were so beloved. Battlefield‘s core identity seems lost, and EA must now work to regain player trust and win back skeptical fans.

The Bottom Line

Based on nearly all metrics – critical reception, player retention, sales figures, and shareholder response – Battlefield 2042 has clearly failed to live up to expectations as a tentpole AAA shooter release. While it can be viewed as a learning opportunity, make no mistake: this will go down as a serious black mark for EA DICE and a blown opportunity to propel the Battlefield franchise forward. Only time will tell if Battlefield can move past this disappointment and recapture its former glory.