Battlefield 2042 Rumored to Have Begun as a Battle Royale, Hazard Zone Reveal This Week

The Battlefield 2042 beta wasn’t quite what many fans were expecting. There have been plenty of complaints about basic things like server issues and glitches, and speculation about how old the beta build actually was, but beyond that, many have criticized the feel of the game. Character movement, gunplay, and level design just felt different than past Battlefield games, and it turns out there may be a good reason for that – Battlefield 2042 may not have begun as a traditional Battlefield game.

According to insider Tom Henderson, who’s had the goods on Battlefield 2042 multiple times in the past, Battlefield 2042 actually began life as a battle royale game, with Apex Legends as a big inspiration, before turning into a more traditional Battlefield experience.

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In other news, the theory that #Battlefield2042 started as a Battle Royale is true, although I’m not sure how far in development it was changed to a more “traditional” Battlefield.

The inspiration from CoD was there, but Apex was a BIG inspiration.

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) October 12, 2021

Take this with a grain of salt for now, but there certainly seem to be a lot of telltale remnants of an abandoned battle royale direction in the Battlefield 2042 beta. From the large, open, less strategy-focused level design to the Apex-like Specialists, there’s a temptation to connect the dots.

Of course, it’s also rumored that Battlefield 2042 still has a battle royale of sorts in its Hazard Zone mode. EA and DICE have provided very little detail about Hazard Zone, saying only that it’s a high-stakes squad-based co-op experience, but word is that it’s taking inspiration from Escape from Tarkov and other objective-based battle royales. We’ll learn finally learn more soon, as EA and DICE are promising the first Hazard Zone trailer this Thursday (October 14).

We’re getting in the zone in T-48H
👉 https://t.co/UQnMrAHYbJ#Battlefield pic.twitter.com/GIQL6loQX4

— Battlefield (@Battlefield) October 12, 2021

Battlefield 2042 launches on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 on November 19.