Battlefield 2042, financially, had the second most lucrative launch of the franchise earning $4.2 million in sales within its first week since launch. However, in the months since its release, Battlefield 2042 has proven to be what both critics and fans of the series believe to be arguably the worst entry in the franchise’s history.

The novel specialist system, lack of a plethora of weapons and vehicles available to players, absence of joystick and throttle support to pilot aircraft and helicopters, poor map design with limited opportunities for destruction or Battlefield’s signature “Levolution” mechanic, and poor gameplay uncharacteristic of the Battlefield franchise have all been serious points of derision by critics and players alike regarding the cold reception of Battlefield 2042. Furthermore, to the shock of franchise fans and the gaming industry at large, Battlefield 2042 launched without key expected, and necessary, features FPS games have included since the late 1990s including a scoreboard and VOIP. Continuing, DICE claims that some of these features will not be added until Summer of 2022 when Season 1 of Battlefield 2042 begins. This announcement is both befuddling and laughable considering that Season 1 of the Battlefield 2042 would not begin until the game is nearly halfway through its lifespan if using past Battlefield titles as points of reference.

Due to these unwanted changes within the franchise, and, quite frankly, the lack of standard FPS elements that have been pillars within the genre for the past 2 decades, Battlefield 2042 is considered a failed game and irredeemable by players, critics, and industry experts alike. Within the months since its release, Battlefield 2042 has lost nearly 90% of its player base on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. According to Steam, the largest video game distribution platform on PC and MAC, there were only 6000 some active players on Battlefield 2042 throughout the month of January 2022. Conversely, 2018’s Battlefield V according to Steam, had nearly 12,000 active players throughout the month of January 2022; double Battlefield 2042’s player count. 

This brings us to the main point of this petition, We petition EA Games and DICE (EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment) to resume support for Battlefield V and begin developing new content for Battlefield V in the form of a live service or DLC effective immediately. 

Battlefield V, while it did not experience the widespread failure in its first few post-launch months that Battlefield 2042 endured, Battlefield V certainly struggled to become a successful entry in the Battlefield franchise for nearly a year post launch. However, with the addition of the Pacific Theater, Battlefield V gained more favor with players and critics alike. In fact, Battlefield V’s gameplay is now considered to be one of the greatest within the Battlefield franchise. This fact can be corroborated simply by noticing that Battlefield V currently has the highest player count on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC of all the titles within the Battlefield franchise. 

Before the Covid 19 Pandemic, Battlefield customers were promised that much more content would be delivered within Battlefield V. Much of World War II was not covered within the game. The Eastern Front was not touched at all. Many players were eager to see fan favorite locations on the Eastern Front from Battlefield 1942 such as Stalingrad, Kursk, and Kharkov come to fruition within Battlefield V. Furthermore, they were excited to see the inclusion of iconic Soviet WWII era weaponry such as the Mosin Nagant, DP-28, SVT-40, PPS-43, Tokarev TT-30 pistol, and of course, the PPSH-41; Soviet vehicles such as the T-34 1942, T-34-85, Katyusha Rocket Launcher, KV-1, and KV-2 tanks, and Soviet aircraft such as the Yakovlev Yak-9 and the legendary IL-2 Sturmovik. Furthermore, the Battlefield community was eager to see iconic Battlefield maps from Battlefield 1942 Road to Rome reimagined in Battlefield V such as Anzio, Monte Cassino, Operation Baytown, Salerno, Operation Husky, and Monte Santa Croce as well as the addition of tanks such as the US M3 Grant and the Italian CA M11/39. New aircraft such as the American P-38 Lighting and the Italian Macchi M.C. 202 Folgore and Italian weapons such the Breda Modello 30 would also be welcome additions within an Italian expansion. Finally, the most iconic battles of World War II and maps of Battlefield 1942 such as Omaha Beach, Bocage, and Battle of Bulge with the inclusion of new aircraft such as the P-47 Thunderbolt would complete Battlefield V. 

Battlefield 2042 is a lost cause. It may have made $4.2 million in sales but it will likely make EA Games or Dice no further substantial revenue nor is it the game that decades-long fans of the Battlefield franchise deserve. By restarting support and development of Battlefield V, EA Games and Dice have another opportunity to earn more profit from the Battlefield franchise rather than focusing on Battlefield 2042 alone and the Battlefield community would be able to enjoy new quality Battlefield content. It’s a win for both EA Games, DICE, and their customers.