Battlefield 2042 already on SALE after ONE month - Player count drops 80%, soon to be lower than Battlefield V currently

[maartendc]

Summary

 

 

Battlefield 2042, only about 1 month after it's initial release, is already on sale at 34% off on Steam, as reported by Aroged. The game is also free to play this weekend on Steam, a DRASTIC measure taken by EA to desperately get players to try the game.

 

This is not surprising, as in related news all over the web, the played count has already dropped from a high of 100,000+ on Steam, to less than 20,000 (a drop of 80% for you math wizzards out there). This means that soon, the CURRENT player count for Battlefield V will actually surpass the playercount of Battlefield 2042.

 

Quotes

Quote

 One of the best indicators of the total failure of a game is its prompt dispatch for sale. This was the case with many unsuccessful projects, so it was with Battlefield 2042. From today until the end of the weekend, everyone can play it in Steam free of charge, and until December 22, purchase with a 34 percent discount.

 

Quote

Battlefield 2042 is continuing its disappointing streak of news. It appears the latest title will soon be overtaken by Battlefield 5 in terms of active player count on Steam.

 

My thoughts

I knew Battlefield 2042 was poorly received, but the player count dropping from 100,000+ to only 18,561 as the 24-hour peak on Steam is dysmal. No wonder EA is already putting it on sale and throwing in a free weekend, in a desperate attempt to get more players on board. At this rate, the game will be as good as dead in a few weeks.

 

What is suprising is that Battlefield V, which was initially hated by fans over misguided marketing and cosmetics, is actually doing relatively OK. For a 3 year old game to surpass a AAA game that is only a month old is SHOCKING.

 

Battlefield 2042 deserves the hate in my opinion. They had good hype built up. But the game is just un-Battlefield with the specialists, the maps are WAY too big even for 128 players, the game lacks content and maps, and it is a buggy mess. Even if they fix some of the issues, I don't think it will ever be a FUN game sadly.

 

It is not surprising people are returning to older Battlefield titles. I tried Battlefield 2042 on the Free Game Pass trial, and didn't even finish the trial period. I went right back to playing Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V. Battlefield 1 was always regarded as a great game. Battlefield V in my opinion didn't deserve all the hate it got. It was and is actually a good game. Buggy at launch, and lacking content. But after those issues were fixed, with the addition of the pacific maps, it is a very good Battlefield game, and a ton of fun still.

 

Sources

https://www.aroged.com/2021/12/16/battlefield-2042-steam-launches-free-weekend-and-goes-on-sale/

 

https://gamingintel.com/battlefield-5-player-count-overtake-battlefield-2042/

 

https://steamcharts.com/app/1517290

[mr fobs]

I have 10 hours for free on Gamepass and have played an hour. That was plenty of time for me. I just don't like it at all.

[IkeaGnome]

I mean, 2042 has had it rough. This is from both games' release week. Maybe take the hint you're doing something wrong with your franchise.

[StDragon]

5 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

I mean, 2042 has had it rough. This is from both games' release week. Maybe take the hint you're doing something wrong with your franchise.

When people prefer to play a game that involves watching grass grow, you know you've done something horribly wrong. Just sayin.

[IkeaGnome]

Just now, StDragon said:

When people prefer to play a game that involves watching grass grow, you know you've done something horribly wrong. Just sayin.

I've played FS since 2011 was still the new game. You don't spend that much time watching grass grow. New one has been grapes, olives, and sugar beets. 

One of my co workers and I turned it into a competition. We got a server. Both started a farm on the same map. Seeing who "wins" with more money/property/equipment. Monopoly style farming. 

It is a nice relaxing break from FPS games and other games like that. Sit back, have a beer or three, and let the tractors do the work. 

[CTR640]

Good good, very good! Hopefully that will teach those fucking lazy devs and greedy fucks at the HQ and managements you can't just keep behaving like that.

[Blademaster91]

I'm kinda surprised Battlefield 2042 is on sale, but $39.99 isn't cheap enough because Battlefield 2042 just isn't Battlefield anymore, it's become a hero battle royale shooter as there isn't any teamwork because of specialists and you can pick what items you want instead of picking a class and helping your team. Also no server browser, or in game scoreboard, match making is random so you might end up playing the same map over and over again.

And the game breaking bugs ruined the launch, the game should've been delayed but I suspect the higher ups at EA and Dice pushed the game to come out around the same time COD Vanguard did.

 

[Brooksie359]

Well when your game has game breaking bugs then yeah people won't want to play it. 

[dizmo]

This isn't super surprising, but there are some flaws in your logic. Many games put out free weekends. It's not at all a desperation move, and is a very smart marketing desicion. 

 

Having the game go on sale that soon just seems to be the way this year; same thing happened to CoD. 

 

BFV is better received right now because it's had 3 years of updates. Once this game is of that vintage, it too will probably be better received. 

 

I think the real issue here, above everything, is it's bugs. Games shouldn't be released before they're ready, period. They're really starting to push what consumers will accept. 

[Eaglerino]

I doubt the playerbase will die anytime soon. EA said this was Battlefield's biggest ever launch and I'm sure it's alive and well on consoles. Then again.. why pay for 2042 when you can also get a feature-missing multiplayer game, Halo Infinite, completely for free instead? It might be missing all chat and a career stats page, but at least it's not a glitch ridden trash fest

[Jurrunio]

I know it's going to be rough when breakthrough mode involves capturing the roof of buildings, it's just hopeless for the attackers when you have 64 players defending such a small position. I think a certain past BF game even had scenery destruction which allows you to destroy the building and capture on the ground in the rubble instead, but no Dice is going backwards without play testing themselves.

[maartendc]

50 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Having the game go on sale that soon just seems to be the way this year; same thing happened to CoD. 

 

BFV is better received right now because it's had 3 years of updates. Once this game is of that vintage, it too will probably be better received.

CoD was very poorly received as well, so I wouldn't take that as a benchmark. EA loves money, so if it was selling well for the holidays, NO way they would put it on sale.

 

BFV was buggy at launch, but the core gameplay was solid. Battlefield 2042's core gameplay just isn't good. Multiple reviewers have said this. The 'bones' are just not good. So no matter how much fixing they do, unless they come with way better maps, drastically alter the gameplay, I don't see this being a good game ever.

[maartendc]

50 minutes ago, Eaglerino said:

I doubt the playerbase will die anytime soon. EA said this was Battlefield's biggest ever launch and I'm sure it's alive and well on consoles. Then again.. why pay for 2042 when you can also get a feature-missing multiplayer game, Halo Infinite, completely for free instead? It might be missing all chat and a career stats page, but at least it's not a glitch ridden trash fest

Biggest launch, perhaps, day 1. But how many games lose 80% of their playerbase in 1 month?? That is disastrous.

 

And that is Steam players, so PAYING customers. So not people who were playing it on Game Pass or EA Play, where the 'barrier' to dropping out is even lower, because you didn't pay any money up front.

[WereCat]

This game is not even worth playing for free. Since I had an option to play it for free and I absolutely went from being excited to an utter hate within first hour... at least from my point of view it applies. 

 

But that also applies for the new Warzone. Not that I hate the new map but the game is probably more broken than BF2042 right now. 

[mr fobs]

1 hour ago, IkeaGnome said:

have a beer or three

or 10

[Quackers101]

portal mode and "milsim" servers seems kind of fun.

but maybe still buggy.

 

They have added or trying to add 64 player servers? instead of 128. To inrease performance and maybe improve some of the gameplay, to less vehicle unbalance the last BF titles has.

[WereCat]

1 hour ago, Eaglerino said:

I doubt the playerbase will die anytime soon. EA said this was Battlefield's biggest ever launch and I'm sure it's alive and well on consoles. Then again.. why pay for 2042 when you can also get a feature-missing multiplayer game, Halo Infinite, completely for free instead? It might be missing all chat and a career stats page, but at least it's not a glitch ridden trash fest

2042 also lacks all chat... it lacks score board as well... actually it also lacks squad features or its very broken so you can't really play with your friends easily

[Giganthrax]

It's a buggy piece of trash without a singleplayer campaign. It's no wonder people tried it for half an hour or so and refunded.

[Monkey Dust]

I assume with all the pre-orders, and Christmas present buying, EA have made fat stacks on it already. And if they missed the Christmas sales, they might have missed more revenue than if the game was finished properly and had a longer tail on the sales and in game purchases (it's EA I'm assuming there are lots of in game purchases to be made).

 

I know at the moment it feels like most publishers are just pushing out half finished buggy games, like a cat coughing up a furball, and going that will be £/$/€60 please. But games released in the run-up to Christmas are particularly risky.

[dizmo]

4 hours ago, maartendc said:

CoD was very poorly received as well, so I wouldn't take that as a benchmark. EA loves money, so if it was selling well for the holidays, NO way they would put it on sale.

 

BFV was buggy at launch, but the core gameplay was solid. Battlefield 2042's core gameplay just isn't good. Multiple reviewers have said this. The 'bones' are just not good. So no matter how much fixing they do, unless they come with way better maps, drastically alter the gameplay, I don't see this being a good game ever.

They put last years on sale as well, and it was well received. Also, you're falling for the classic misconception when it comes to sales. It's far better to sell 1,000,000 of something at $49.99 than 250,000 of something at $79.99. They've done the math, and it clearly points to sales resulting in higher sales.

[WolframaticAlpha]

6 hours ago, CTR640 said:

Good good, very good! Hopefully that will teach those fucking lazy devs and greedy fucks at the HQ and managements you can't just keep behaving like that.

I would venture a guess, that like at all places, it was management and not devs who fucked the game. Duke Nukem Forever and other developement hell games seem to be developer faults.

[Blademaster91]

6 hours ago, dizmo said:

This isn't super surprising, but there are some flaws in your logic. Many games put out free weekends. It's not at all a desperation move, and is a very smart marketing desicion. 

 

Having the game go on sale that soon just seems to be the way this year; same thing happened to CoD. 

 

BFV is better received right now because it's had 3 years of updates. Once this game is of that vintage, it too will probably be better received. 

 

I think the real issue here, above everything, is it's bugs. Games shouldn't be released before they're ready, period. They're really starting to push what consumers will accept. 

If the game was selling so well they wouldn't be putting it on sale only a month after launch, it's EA, they don't put their games on sale just after launch. The game being put on sale and offering 3 days of free gameplay is clearly a desperate move to get holiday sales and player numbers up on Steam.

I'm not sure why CoD isn't doing well, I don't play CoD, although I doubt EA would put Battlefield 2042 on sale because other games aren't doing well.

BFV is doing well now because it has good gameplay mechanics, and basic features like a scoreboard and squad voice chat, funny enough EA considers those "legacy features" now. Although EA stopped supporting BFV early because it didn't sell as well as they wanted it to, and it has a cheater problem since they dropped all support for the game.

[GamerDude]

For me, BF2042 wasn't on my list of games to get, I did get COD Vanguard, simply because there's no SP Campaign mode, a staple with which I'd enjoyed all previous BF games.

[dizmo]

17 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

If the game was selling so well they wouldn't be putting it on sale only a month after launch, it's EA, they don't put their games on sale just after launch. The game being put on sale and offering 3 days of free gameplay is clearly a desperate move to get holiday sales and player numbers up on Steam.

I'm not sure why CoD isn't doing well, I don't play CoD, although I doubt EA would put Battlefield 2042 on sale because other games aren't doing well.

BFV is doing well now because it has good gameplay mechanics, and basic features like a scoreboard and squad voice chat, funny enough EA considers those "legacy features" now. Although EA stopped supporting BFV early because it didn't sell as well as they wanted it to, and it has a cheater problem since they dropped all support for the game.

They put last years on sale as well, and it was well received. Also, you're falling for the classic misconception when it comes to sales. It's far better to sell 1,000,000 of something at $49.99 than 250,000 of something at $79.99. They've done the math, and it clearly points to sales resulting in higher sales.

[ravenshrike]

9 hours ago, maartendc said:

Battlefield V in my opinion didn't deserve all the hate it got.

You do realize that all the wild and wacky original cosmetics planned were stripped from the game prior to launch and that's why there was a dearth of content on launch right?