Tom Henderson on the Chaos of Battlefield 2042's Development
Well-known insider Tom Henderson described the chaos that reigned during the development of Battlefield 2042. He also pointed out the reasons why the game failed.
- Changes in the project concept during development;
- Experienced developers leaving DICE;
- Shift to remote work due to the pandemic;
- Troublesome switch to a new version of the Frostbite engine;
- As a result, work on the final version of BF2042 did not begin in full swing until August 2020.
Battlefield 2042 was one of the most anticipated games of the year, but turned out to be one of its biggest disappointments. The game debuted in terrible technical condition and without several key elements that fans of the brand were accustomed to. Many users are trying to understand the reasons for this disaster. Tom Henderson, a proven insider when it comes to DICE games, brings some answers. From the information provided in his latest video, it appears that the version of BF2042 that eventually hit the market, has been in development for only 15 months.
Normally, work on the new installment of the series should start soon after the release of the previous one. Battlefield V was released in November 2018, so the developers would have had plenty of time to create a perfect game, but according to Henderson, DICE wasted the next several months on developing failed follow-up projects, among other things. The team initially wanted to develop Battlefield: Bad Company 3 but Electronic Arts turned it down, along with a number of other ideas. For a long time the next installment was being developed as a battle royale game, but this idea was abandoned too. Its elements, such as specialists instead of classes or Hazard Zone mode, can be found in the final version of BF2042.
In the end it was decided to return to a more traditional formula, but the upshot was that work on Battlefield 2042 didn't start in full swing until August 2020. In March 2021 it was already clear that the project has big problems. At that time an attempt was made to bolster DICE's numbers with employees from other teams, but problems with the game engine meant that it did not bring the expected results. On top of all this there were delays caused by the pandemic, which forced a switch to remote working.
Another cause of trouble in the development of BF2042 was the fact that before work began on the game, many key employees left the studio. Many of these people had been with DICE for several years. The reason for the exodus was a desire to regain creative freedom. These veterans repeatedly presented EA with proposals for ambitious projects, which were rejected because the publisher preferred proven solutions and insisted on following industry trends instead of setting them.
The result of these departures were problems with technology. DICE created the Frostbite engine, but Battlefield's development pace was so fast that the developers were unable to upgrade to the latest versions of the technology. For example, BFV runs on the 2016 edition of the engine. It wasn't until BF2042 when it was decided that the series would be switched to the latest version. The process proved to be much more difficult than anticipated, as many of the most experienced staff members who created Frostbite had already left DICE. As a result, the switch to the latest version of the engine, which was supposed to take six months, took a year and a half. It was only after this task was completed that work on BF2042 could begin in earnest.
In the interview, Henderson also reiterates his earlier reports, according to which next Battlefield is going to be a "hero shooter" like Overwatch or Apex Legends, enabling the players to choose a character from a large gallery of unique heroes with a variety of special abilities. This development direction of the brand is to be supported by Vince Zampella and Marcus Lehto, who were entrusted with the care of the series. At the same time, Henderson stresses that the shape of the next installment may still change. BF2042 is a good example of the fact that DICE's original plans are not always realized.
Battlefield 2042 debuted on November 19, simultaneously on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. People who purchased the Gold or Ultimate edition could start the game a week earlier.
