In a move that’s definitely designed to throw dust in Activision’s eye, Electronic Arts has made Battlefield 2042 free-to-play for the weekend. The timing is clearly no coincidence, coming at the exact same time as the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 remake’s beta weekend.
It’s a great chance to get into a Battlefield games that’s improved a lot since launch. Battlefield 2042 definitely had something of a troubled release, with players complaining of the changes to the beloved Battlefield formula, and making demands to change it back. EA relented, making big changes to the game through various patches, and as a result, the futuristic shooter is a lot better now, and well worth your time — especially when it’s available for free.
But as mentioned, this free weekend isn’t coming at a completely clear time, it’s obviously been set-up to conflict with the release of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 remake’s beta weekend. Battlefield and Call of Duty have traditionally had something of a rivalry, despite the two games being quite different representations of a first-person shooter wargame. This free weekend is another facet of this rivalry, and while it’s likely few Call of Duty fanatics will be swayed to playing Battlefield instead this weekend, some more casual shooter fans may be tempted into EA’s war shooter.
A large part of the backlash against Battlefield 2042’s state on launch was because the game had moved away from its traditional roots in pursuit of another element of the shooter market: Character shooters like Overwatch 2. Instead of the traditional class system, which equipped players with particular tools for specific jobs, 2042 introduced the "Specialist" system, heroes with their own set of skills and characters, who had access to a pool of gadgets. This more open system was similar to the traditional Battlefield class system, but not enough for long-time fans, who were extremely vocal about their opposition. Thankfully, a patch at the start of the year added the class system back in, and Battlefield 2042’s reputation has been increasing with fans ever since.
If you want to get in on the free weekend, you’ll need to download it either through Steam, or through your console marketplace. It runs until 10am PT on October 16, so make sure to get shooting soon.