The great age of game delays continues. The latest to fall victim is Battlefield 2042, delayed nearly a month to November 19, 2021. The development team behind the upcoming title cites difficulties caused by the Covid pandemic, which has created “unforeseen challenges” as conditions continue to prevent employees from safely returning to the studio. Originally scheduled to release on October 22, this delay pushes that game out by almost a full month.
An update from the Battlefield team pic.twitter.com/K53VNM2tTz
— Battlefield (@Battlefield) September 15, 2021
The Covid pandemic creating difficult and unpredictable conditions to develop and release games in has been an ongoing theme more or less since early 2020, and as the world struggles with mitigation efforts, it continues to present problems and cause delays like this.
The full statement reads:
We’ve made the decision to shift the launch of Battlefield 2042. The game will now be released worldwide on November 19th, 2021.
Building the next generation of Battlefield during a global pandemic has created unforeseen challenges for our development teams. Given the scale and scope of the game, wwe had hoped our teams would be back in our studios together as we move towards launch. With ongoing conditions not allowing that to happen safely, and with all the hard work the teams are doing from home, we feel it is important to take the extra time to deliver on the vision of Battlefield 2042 for our players.
Your enthusiasm for the game has been very inspiring. We believe in the game we’re making, and we thank you for your patience as we put some finishing touches on the experience.
Updates on the Open Beta will be coming later this month.
Oskar Gabrielson & the Battlefield 2042 Development Team
Battlefield 2042 is an enormous undertaking from multiple teams at EA, including DICE, Criterion, and Ripple Effect (formerly DICE LA), among others. The delay now puts the shooter behind its biggest competition, this year’s Call of Duty title. Now instead of a couple weeks of lead time for Battlefield, Call of Duty: Vanguard will get some breathing room before Battlefield 2042 releases a couple of weeks later. However, at least EA didn’t delay it to Q1 2022, which is currently jam-packed with releases (though admittedly, expect some of those titles to also see delays).
The development team will release additional details about the launch of the open beta “later this month,” but insiders don’t expect that any plans were changed on account of the delay.
Battlefield 2042 will now release on November 19th, 2021.
