Battleground 2042DICE’s player count continues to drop, and has now dropped so much that the number of active PC players of DICE’s latest multiplayer competitive shooter is lower than 2013’s Battlefield 4.
A number of technical glitches, connectivity issues, and gameplay bugs that have riddled Battlefield 2042 since launch continue to alienate gamers, even as DICE commits to improving the game through continuous updates.
According to SteamDB, the number of people playing Battlefield 2042 on February 28 has dropped below Battlefield 4 for several hours. At 11am EST / 4pm GMT 1,734 players jumped into a game from the last Battlefield, while a 1,794 players logged into its predecessor. Four hours later, the player count for 2042 had risen to 2,082 while Battlefield 4 was still topping at 2,177.
Battlefield 2042’s player base has dropped since the game’s launch last October. In early February, the game’s player count dropped to one awkward position, as it dropped below the game’s title number. The game never came close to its peak post-launch player count of 100,590, which it reached in the days following its release, with its average daily active player count over the past 30 days now at just over 3,000, according to SteamCharts.
Of course, the total number of Battlefield 2042 players is likely to be higher, as these numbers only capture the number of people playing the game on PC. Add those who are playing the game at Xbox Series X/S, PS4or PS5, and the game’s total player base will inflate. However, the number of countless players who are enjoying the game is unlikely to be huge as console gamers are reporting the same bugs and irritation with the game as their PC counterparts.
Analysis: A gesture of goodwill is sorely needed
Battlefield 2042 hasn’t had a fantastic launch and it doesn’t look like things are going to get any better for the AAA multiplayer shooter. Badly received from day one, the game continues to cause ire among fans of the series, who complain about its many bugs, glitches, technical issues, and lack of content.
While DICE delayed the game’s first season of DLC in early February to allow more development time to fix existing issues and implement several quality of life improvements, substantial fixes that address the community’s most pressing concerns have yet to materialize.
With players now criticizing the game’s broader design and making less justified criticisms, such as pointing out its recycled character models, it will likely take more than gradual bug fixes and technical improvements to win over the Battlefield crowd. Something like a gesture of goodwill would be more appropriate, giving fans a reason to get on with the game as it goes down.
Beyond anything else, neither DICE nor EA have fully acknowledged the game’s poor state, admitting that more work needs to be done, without updating fans on how development is progressing behind the scenes. This does not give already annoyed gamers the impression that they are being overheard.
