One of the major talking points about Battlefield 2042 ahead of its release was the Hazard Zone mode. Heavily inspired by Hunt Showdown, it dropped players into four-member squads, with each vying for possession of Data Drives hidden throughout the map. To paraphrase our review, it was fun, though a little shallow compared to its source material.
It seems the Battlefield 2042 playerbase, as small as that may be nowadays, feels the same way. In a new development update mostly focused on forthcoming season 1 changes, DICE has announced that it will cease active development on Hazard Zone, though the mode will still be available as-is for those who want to keep playing it.
“All of us on the team had great ambition and high hopes for this new Battlefield experience throughout our development, but we’re the first to hold our hands up and acknowledge that it hasn’t found the right home in Battlefield 2042 and that we’ll benefit greatly from letting our focus and energy stay on the modes we see you engaging most with,” the update notes read.
It continues: “Hazard Zone will stay as part of the experience, we’re not switching it off, but beyond addressing critical errors and odd behaviors that may appear in the future, we’re no longer actively developing new experiences or content for the mode, and you’ll find that maps that we release across our seasons will not be supported in Hazard Zone.”
It comes shortly after DICE announced that its 128-player Breakthrough playlist will be removed, with the rationale being that “the 64 player version represented a more tactical experience”. Of course, the bigger problem might be the difficulty of actually filling those 128-player matches, especially with Battlefield mainstay Conquest overshadowing Breakthrough.
Battlefield 2042 Season 1 is scheduled to release some time in June, and DICE’s new update largely focused on those imminent changes and improvements. The Kaleidoscope map is getting a comprehensive revamp in August, while improvements to animation and traversal will roll-out throughout June and July. The shooter’s controversial Specialists are also being rejigged, mostly to make them “feel grittier”. For the full notes, head over here, or check out the video below: