Battlefield 2042 No Longer Among Xbox’s Top 50 Most Played

The Battlefield franchise has delivered some of the most excellent and addictive FPS titles over the last decade. Most of their games were well received by critics and players alike. The previous few Battlefield games came with some issues at launch, but those were fixed with time. The trailer for the latest title in the series garnered a lot of hype around it. Many players anticipated it because the game takes place in a modern setting, where the Battlefield franchise has shined the most.

However, the game received arguably the poorest launch, and new issues were discovered every day; players were quite frustrated that the game felt more like a pre-alpha when it first came out. Besides heaps of hype, Battlefield 2042 hasn’t been the Call of Duty killer it was envisioned to be. DICE’s latest hit in the iconic franchise has amassed criticism at almost every detail. Lack of features like aim assist has made the game impossible to play on consoles. There have been many glitches, and even cosmetics offered to players haven’t made up for all the mishaps.

Battlefield 2042: The Flopped Experience

Recently the game has dropped out of the top 50 most played games on Xbox (US) versions, Xbox One, and series. Even Battlefield V did not experience this despite experiencing some bugs at launch. As of writing, in the UK, the series version is still at #44, but it’s expected to drop as well. According to steam charts for Battlefield 2042, only 5000 players are playing a day, and the game has become a flop at this point.

Hundreds of bugs resulted in players dropping the game. After ten days of its release, the Battlefield 2042 player base went from over 100,000 to 50,000. The community noticed players returning to Battlefield V in droves. The player count has significantly dropped since then, and the game is almost dead, by the looks of it. The matches are full of bots, and it takes a minute or two to connect, as players stated.

Around three weeks ago, the game placed dead last on Steam‘s most-played games list. Likewise, the game lost a lot of popularity on twitch and fell out compared to other FPS titles like Halo Infinite. Battlefield 2042 reached a high time peak of 100,000, it’s normal for AAA titles to accumulate that amount, but they also consistently maintain it. However, it has dwindled to a few thousand players a day.

There were speculations that the game may go free to play because of how bad it has performed. Well-known industry insider Tom Henderson stated that EA was “very disappointed” with Battlefield 2042‘s release and is considering making the game free-to-play “in some capacity.” Meaning some modes of the game may go free to play. Maybe, this could be the saving grace that Battlefield 2042 needs.

EA is reportedly very disappointed with how Battlefield 2042 has performed and is "looking at all the options" when it comes to the title, this is including looking at Free to Play in some capacity.

I'll have more on this tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/WWuDpstyqS

— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) January 20, 2022

If the game is ever to become a limited free-to-play experience, then it’ll most likely be at the start of one of its seasons. Battlefield 2042‘s first season is supposed to drop in March. However, the player base is mostly dead by now. There is only so much that can reverse the damage that is done.

Battlefield 2042 has been a massive disaster for DICE. Some players are speculating that this is it for the Battlefield series. The previous titles also felt off, but this one has been a significant failure. On the contrary, the game itself isn’t dead. DICE is working hard on patching all the bugs. Many players have stated that they plan to return to the game once the bugs are fixed.