It’s been a long time since a new game in the Battlefield franchise. EA’s AAA military shooter last released Battlefield V in 2018 to relative success. The game was very popular, but its inability to stand out from its predecessors led to many players going back to previous games in the series. However, Battlefield 2042 was supposed to be the start of something big for the franchise. Every trailer and detail released so far has indicated that this is going to be developer DICE’s attempt at one of their biggest games ever.
There were always going to be struggles in development with a title of this size and scope, especially with many developers having to spend 2020 adjusting to a new workflow. Those struggles have led to EA and DICE being forced to delay Battlefield 2042 until November due to “unforeseen challenges” during the pandemic. Not a major delay, but it’s never fun to see a game delayed a little over a month from its promised release date.
https://twitter.com/Battlefield/status/1438232407119908870
Battlefield 2042 being delayed is unfortunately not a unique story for 2021. Mulitple major titles saw delays this year and almost all of them can be pointed back to the struggles of 2020. Developing a video game is incredibly difficult under normal circumstances. Doing that while also trying to change everything from how you work, to the way you live your life, is almost impossible. While a delay is unfortunate, it’s good to see that the development team is going to do its best to release a finished product instead of rushing one out the door.