BF2042: No campaign, story told exclusively through multiplayer

Battlefield 2042 won't have a traditional singleplayer campaign and DICE will tell the game's story through multiplayer updates.

@DeekeTweak

Published Jun 9, 2021 12:45 PM CDT
Updated Jul 7, 2021 4:03 AM CDT

6 minutes & 57 seconds read time

Battlefield 2042 is multiplayer-only and won't have a traditional campaign, but that doesn't mean the game won't tell a story.

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It's official: Battlefield 2042 won't have a singleplayer campaign. Instead, DICE and EA are focusing exclusively on multiplayer, which includes a huge new 128-player Conquest mode.

While the game doesn't have a campaign, DICE still has a story to tell. Only this time DICE will spin their sci-fi tale exclusively through multiplayer live services. The delivery method will be the battle pass scheme: Battlefield 2042 will have four free and paid battle passes that release in the game's first year. These passes will include content like new specialists, weapons, and more.

"We'll be evolving our world and expanding on the fiction through Seasons, each one lasting for about three months. Every Season will come with a new free and paid-for Battle Pass, delivering new content to chase after," DICE said.

"We're taking a new approach to live service for a Battlefield game where players will be given the services and evolution they have come to expect from modern multiplayer games, all aimed at keeping the community playing together for years to come. In our first year of live service, we will deliver four Seasons, with four Battle Passes, four new Specialists, along with more fresh content."

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Despite it being multiplayer-only, DICE is creating an interesting and compelling story for their new shooter.

Here's a quick recap: Battlefield 2042 takes place in a futuristic dystopian world that's torn apart by monstrous category 6 storms. Resource shortages triggers the Second Great Depression. Nations fall left and right, and people form country-less militia groups called No-Pats.

A global blackout raises tensions. A freak storm in space causes most of the world's orbiting satellites to fall, leading to massive disruption. There's no internet, no surveillance, no navigation. Russian and the United States are among the only remaining nations on the planet, and they use No-Pats in a series of struggles and worldwide conflicts in a shadow war. But all-out war is only a matter of time.

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Here's the official story description:

A DECADE OF CHAOS
2031.
Ten years is all it took to bring the world to the brink. Rising sea levels, collapsing economies, broken alliances, and the headlines keep rolling in...
October 9th, 2033.
"Hurricane Zeta. The world's first category 6 storm."
Jan 11th, 2034.
"Global food, fuel shortages spark Second Great Depression."
August 8th, 2035.
"European Union officially disbands following Germany's collapse."
THE RISE OF THE NO-PATS
Left behind, the displaced band together into ragtag fleets in search of safe harbor. They are families, farmers, doctors, engineers, and soldiers... the once privileged and the impoverished with backgrounds that are worlds apart, forced together, determined to survive.
The media calls them the Non-Patriated. They call themselves... No-Pats.
THE NEW NORMAL
2037.
Humanity adapts to the new normal. Revolutions in energy, desert irrigation, hydraulic levees, and sea walls save coastal cities, reclaim farmland, and rebuild supply chains. Hope of finding stability leads to some nations re-opening their borders.
However, with no way to repatriate 1.2 billion people, No-Pats become a permanent fixture in all economic, military, and social policy making. Many No-Pats are still distrustful of the governments that exiled them and refuse calls to reassimilate. No-Pat leaders emerge, inspiring a new identity unbound to former nationality, drawing a line in the sand between the Old World and The New Normal. #WeAreNoPats becomes a rallying cry.
Amidst the world rebuilding, sparks of friction erupt between the US and Russia, as the last two superpowers both vie for control of this fast-changing world.
THE BLACKOUT OF 2040
2040.
A sudden space debris storm creates a "Kessler Effect" causing 70%+ of all orbiting satellites to malfunction and crash to Earth. The cause is unknown.
The subsequent blackout causes mass devastation. Planes crash. Communication grids collapse. Already jammed global supply chains come to a stand-still. Prices of oil, grain, coal skyrocket exponentially. Unsubstantiated claims report over 100,000 lives are lost.
A world on the brink, goes over the edge. No internet. No navigation. No surveillance. No storm forecasts.
Geopolitical distrust surges overnight. No one can spy on each other, so no one can trust each other. Both Russia and the US claim the other is responsible for the Blackout, while some suspect No-Pats were behind it and accuse them of trying to sow anarchy.
Former military and combat trained Specialists amongst the No-Pats rise up into armed Task Forces to defend themselves as tensions rise.
THE BRINK OF WAR
A food and fuel shortage ignites a shadow war between the US and Russia. To maintain plausible deniability, both sides field No-Pat Task Forces as proxies in escalating conflicts over resources - promising the refugees a piece of what's left.
2042.
Open war is imminent. No-Pats have no choice but to choose sides, fighting not for a flag, but for their future.
Their War is Your Story.

More Battlefield 2042 news:

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Battlefield 2042 releases October 22, 2021 on PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Check below for screenshots and info directly from EA:

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) and DICE today announced Battlefield 2042, a groundbreaking first-person shooter set to revolutionize the modern multiplayer sandbox. Powered by cutting-edge technology that pushes the capabilities of next generation hardware, the game drops players into a near-future, all-out-war experience that includes the franchise's hallmark, game-changing destruction. Featuring matches filled with up to 128 players on the latest consoles* and PCs, this unprecedented scale adds a new dimension to multiplayer battles. Battlefield 2042also ups the action with the inclusion of real-time events that reshape the battlefield and tactical combat. All-new weapons, vehicles, and gadgets give players the freedom to be strategic and create jaw-dropping, only-in-Battlefield moments.
In Battlefield 2042, the world is on the brink. Shortages of food, energy, and clean water have led to dozens of failed nations, creating the greatest refugee crisis in human history. Among these Non-Patriated, or No-Pats, are families, farmers, engineers - and even soldiers. Amidst this crisis, the United States and Russia draw the world into an all-out war. No-Pat Specialists join both sides, not fighting for a flag, but for the future of the Non-Patriated in this new world.
Players will jump into the boots of Specialists, an all-new type of playable soldier for the franchise. Inspired by the traditional four Battlefield classes, Specialists will be equipped with their own unique Specialist Trait and Specialty, and will have fully customizable loadouts. As a Specialist, players will have access to a cutting-edge arsenal of weapons, equipment, and vehicles to use in battle. These powerful new tools give creative players a wealth of options as they find the perfect combination to fit their play style and outsmart and outgun opponents on the battlefield.
"Battlefield 2042 is an evolution of the franchise and embraces what our players want - the ultimate Battlefield multiplayer sandbox with intense combat and a ton of incredible, unexpected events,"said Oskar Gabrielson, General Manager of DICE.
"All of us across DICE in Stockholm, DICE LA, Criterion, and EA Gothenburg have had so much fun developing this game and now it's time to let players jump in. What they'll find is that we've built three distinct, absolutely epic experiences that we think they'll love."
The biggest, most ambitious title in the franchise, Battlefield 2042includes:
All-Out Warfare - the next generation of fan-favorite modes Conquest and Breakthrough, featuring the largest maps ever for the franchise and for the first time, up to 128 players*. Experience the intensity of All-Out Warfare in large-scale battles like never before on maps filled with dynamic weather, dangerous environmental hazards, and spectacular world events that see tornadoes rip across the map and sandstorms block out the sun.
Hazard Zone - an all-new, high-stakes, squad-based game-type for the Battlefield franchise that is a modern take on the multiplayer experience that is distinctly DICE but very different from All-Out Warfare's Conquest or Breakthrough modes.
TO BE ANNOUNCED - the third experience, being developed by DICE LA, is another exciting new game-type for the franchise. This experience is a love letter to Battlefield fans and one that long-time players will feel right at home with. Tune-in to EA Play Live on July 22 for all the details.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for pre-order and is set to launch on retail and digital storefronts on October 22 for $59.99 on Xbox® One, PlayStation®4, and PC, and $69.99 on Xbox® Series X and S and PlayStation®5. EA Play members get a 10-hour trial starting Oct 15, 2021. EA Play members and players who pre-order will receive early access to the Open Beta**. Players who pre-order have three different editions to choose from, including the Battlefield 2042Gold Edition for $89.99 on PC and $99.99 on console, or the Battlefield 2042Ultimate Edition for $109.99 on PC or $119.99 on console.