Battlefield 2042: EA and DICE announce the end of Breakthrough mode with 128 players

Marketed on PC and consoles since the end of 2021, Battlefield 2042 finds it very difficult to restore its image with the public. However, Electronic Arts is not yet ready to give up on the game since, as part of the presentation of its latest financial report last week, its president Andrew Wilson declared that he had a long-term vision for it. and the license in general.

And, apparently, the American publisher and DICE have come to the conclusion that this future is not possible. that by dispensing with Breakthrough mode at 128 players. According to the article published earlier this week on FPS official website revealing the various adjustments and fixes brought by the 4.1 update, which is rolling out today on all platforms, “Breakthrough 128 has been removed from the options list on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S”.

Launch of Season 1 in early June

In order to justify this choice, the developers state that “When we looked at the experiences available in All-Out Warfare, we noticed that the 128-player version was more suited to Conquest mode and its vast spaces, which lends itself better to the sandbox dimension. In 128-player Breakthrough mode, a player’s or squad’s usefulness and impact on the flow of the game is limited by the intensity of the chaos. »

As a result, “We concluded that the 64-player version of Breakthrough represented a more tactical experience. Reducing the number of players helps alleviate the chaos of the experience, and by reducing the number of combat vehicles available, you’ll be able to hold the front line more effectively. You will also have more space to work together and fulfill your individual function. […] We think limiting Breakthrough to 64 players will restore the rhythm that promotes teamwork and goal play. »

Following this major change, the British studio also made another decision. In Breakthrough 64 mode on PC and next-gen consoles, battles on the Dump, Manifest, Orbital and Kaleidoscope maps will take place on the versions whose size could accommodate up to 128 players while clashes on the Hourglass maps, Rupture and Renouveau will take place on the 64-player versions.

Battlefield 2042 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Note that patch 4.1 is a priori the last update deployed by the design team before the launch of Season 1 scheduled for early June.