The three-year wait since the series’ last entry, Battlefield V, and a pre-launch delay brought hope for a more stable Battlefield 2042 release. An early look at the game has raised concerns of an all-too-familiar story, however, as the Battlefield 2042 beta’s problems don’t bode well for launch.
Crucially, DICE has said the Battlefield 2042 beta build is months old, and some of the problems in the beta have already been addressed behind the scenes. That said, the series’ track record means this knowledge doesn’t entirely quell the anxieties stemming from the beta’s many bugs. At this point, it feels like a tradition for Battlefield games to launch in a fairly rough state. Battlefield 4 is probably the most notorious example, shipping with a wide array of glitches and debilitating network issues. Battlefield V had similar issues – worse than its predecessor, BF1, but not as bad as BF4 – but suffered most from post-launch failures. It came out in a passable state, but poor handling of its attempt at live service and multiple unpopular changes to core mechanics left it floundering.
Battlefield 2042‘s beta, old build it may be, is worryingly buggy. It is certainly playable, and when it appears to be working as intended, 2042 seems to run rather well. There are, however, a variety of not infrequent, borderline game-breaking glitches.
Battlefield 2042’s Beta Problems Are Worrying
For starters, the Battlefield 2042 beta includes a variety of graphical glitches, randomly making textures flicker obnoxiously, but these aren’t as frustrating as the bugs detrimental to gameplay. For instance, a handful of issues affect 2042’s new in-game weapon customization and loadout system. When trying to select equipment from the deployment screen, the screen icons sometimes simply won’t appear, and other times, it won’t equip the selected gear. The new system is actually quite dynamic and effective when it works properly, but the game frequently changes attachments away from the one selected, and attachments will often be wiped between lives.
Battlefield 2042 also has some hiccups reminiscent of the netcode issues of BF4. Unreliable connectivity is forgivable in a beta, of course, but its desync and rubber-banding are so persistent they may discourage people from playing at launch. Moving a few feet only to be pulled back every few seconds, a dozen or more times, is incredibly frustrating, as is taking cover only to wind up dead on the ground beside it. The Battlefield 2042 beta’s months-old build may mean DICE has already fixed the more prominent of these bugs, but the series’ release history and the prevalence of the issues present makes a day-one purchase seem dubious.
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