Over on Twitter, the official Battlefield account shared a brief message with fans, notifying them that the game is being pushed from its initial October release date to November 19. The delay specifically cites the global coronavirus pandemic as a driving factor for the delay, which caused additional complications due to the scope Battlefield 2042 is aiming for.
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The team had hoped that conditions would improve enough to allow game developers to work in an office rather than remotely, but that simply didn’t come to pass. The coronavirus pandemic is still having a massive effect on the world, and it’s dramatically shaken the way that games are being developed globally due to its effects. With that in mind, the extra time to polish Battlefield 2042 makes sense.
For some, the shift might even be seen as a boon. The October release window has been uncharacteristically packed with new games, seeing the release of Far Cry 6, Guardians of the Galaxy, Mario Party, and more over the course of four weeks. While many of the games appeal to starkly different audiences, Battlefield 2042 may, in part, be looking to distance itself from some of the other triple-a games out there. This November 19 release date still lands before Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, so it makes strategic sense for EA too.
However, the November 19 release date sandwiches Battlefield 2042 between two of the other biggest shooters of the year, Halo Infinite and Call of Duty: Vanguard, which are slated to release on December 8 and November 5, respectively. That means three major new shooter games will be released over the span of about a month, and from three of the biggest FPS franchises ever made to boot.
As with all delays, there will likely be some fans upset by the news, but it’s ultimately a good thing. Delays give developers more time to polish their games, and even just a few weeks can have a major impact on the final product.
Battlefield 2042 has been delayed to November 19, 2021.
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