If you’ve been eager to pair your pre-ordered Google Pixel 6 or Google Pixel 6 Pro with the rumored revised Google Pixel Stand, rejoice: a listing for the 2nd Generation Pixel Stand is up on the Google online store – but it won’t launch on October 25 alongside the Pixel 6.
To be clear, the listing for the Google Pixel Stand (2nd Gen) says it is ‘coming soon.’ We reached out to Google, which confirmed to TechRadar that the wireless charger wouldn’t arrive on October 25, but didn’t give a release date.
The Google Pixel Stand (2nd Gen) improves on its predecessor with faster charging up to 23W – but only for the new Pixel phones. Other devices charge at up to 15W, which is about standard for wireless charging in most handsets anyway.
Interestingly, the new Pixels don’t charge at the same rate: peeking at the fine print of the specs sheet, the Google Pixel 6 wirelessly charges up to 21W, while the Pixel 6 Pro goes up to the stated 23W. It’s a minuscule difference, but more sleight of hand to obscure the actual recharge rates of these phones.
If you’re using a Qi-certified EPP charger (aka a non-Pixel Stand), expect the new Pixels to wirelessly recharge up to 12W.
Wireless charging: does it matter?
Most phones, especially at the flagship level, can wirelessly charge – and some can even act as chargers themselves (the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro included), sapping their own battery life to recharge other Qi-certified devices.
There are a few flagships that don’t, like the Asus ROG 5, a gaming-focused phone that saves space and avoids the heating issues that come with wireless recharging in order to preserve thermal capacity and space for its huge 6,000mAh battery and gaming-intensive features.
Whether or not Pixel 6 owners use wireless charging, they’ll still benefit from the large 4,612mAh battery, while the Pixel 6 Pro has a larger 5,000mAh battery. Both have a maximum charging speed of 30W, though neither includes an actual charging block in the box – you’ll have to buy that separately, but as far as we know, you won’t have to buy a Google-specific charger to get that top recharging rate.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered unencrypted data of about a million users of Quickfox, a free virtual private network (VPN) service primarily used to access Chinese sites from outside of mainland China.
Commenting on the find, WizCase says that the data exposed a variety of personally identifiable information (PII) of the users of the service, including their names, phone numbers, and more.
“There was no need for a password or login credentials to see this information, and the data was not encrypted. Based on the records exposed, our team estimates that the breach affected at least a million Quickfox users,” writes WizCase.
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The security researchers claim that they tried bringing the leak to the attention of Quickfox, but the free VPN provider hasn’t yet responded to their hails.
Overzealous collection
The data was discovered through a misconfiguration in Quickfox’s ElasticSearch server thanks to incomplete ELK stack security.
The researchers explain that ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana) are three open source applications that help streamline searches through large files, such as the logs of an online service like Quickfox.
“Quickfox had set up access restrictions from Kibana, but had not set up the same security measures for their Elasticsearch server. This means that anyone with a browser and an internet connection could access Quickfox logs and extract sensitive information on Quickfox users,” explained WizCase.
The total leaked data was made up of over 500 million records and totaled over 100GB. About a million of these records had PII of users, including MD5 hashed passwords, which WizCase claims can’t withstand modern password crackers.
Worryingly however, the leaked data didn’t just contain the IP address assigned to the user, but also the user’s original IP address from which they connected to the VPN service. WizCase was also surprised that the service collects data about the other software installed on the user’s device.
“It’s unclear why the VPN was collecting this data, as it is unnecessary for its process and it is not standard practice seen with other VPN services. We could not find Quickfox’s terms of use or privacy policy to confirm whether or not users were aware of the information that Quickfox is extracting,” WizCase observes.
The best laptop for music production is going to have all the tools you need and the power to run them whether you're in the studio, on the road, or playing live in a venue.
You'll need specific hardware to get the most out of your investment however, and your specific musical needs can mean you need to look for some rather different things when buying a new laptop. The best specs in the best laptops aren't going to mean much if they aren't the right specs or form factor for your need.
Apart from the best processors, which is going to be universally useful, system memory for managing all your audio tracks in professional sound engineering apps like ProTools and Adobe Audition is also essential, as is storage capacity if you're on the go since raw audio files can be massive and you'll be working with several of them at a time most likely.
You have plenty of options out there, though. This can make the process a bit more frustrating while shopping, but rest assured, we've looked through all the available options to find the best laptop for music production for every need, budget, and form factor preference to keep the music going as long as it needs to.
Our Top Picks for Best Laptop for Music Production 2021
Our picks for the best laptop for music production 2021
(Image credit: Apple)
1. MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
The best Apple laptop ever
CPU: 9th-generation Intel Core i7 – i9 | Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M – Radeon Pro 5500M | RAM: 16GB – 64GB | Screen: 16-inch Retina display with True Tone | Storage: 512GB – 8TB SSD
Stunning 16-inch screen
New and improved keyboard
Expensive
Limited to four Thunderbolt 3 ports
While we’re sad that the 15-inch MacBook Pro is no more, we’ve welcomed the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) with open arms. As thin, light and sleek as ever, you wouldn’t think this was a 16-inch behemoth. Yet, you’re getting that extra real estate on that stunning display, as well as the latest and greatest components behind it. This is, without a doubt, the best laptop for DJs, as well as content creators, designers and other creative professionals. With amazing (and loud) speakers and a much, much better keyboard to boot, music production has never been this good.
The Dell XPS 13 (2020) has been a regular in our best laptops list for years, and it also earns a well-deserved spot in our best laptops for DJs list. It keeps everything we've come to love from Dell's flagship 13-incher, from the gorgeous and light design, to the powerful modern components that power it. However, it now rocks 10th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and a bezel-less ‘Infinity Edge’ display, which means the Dell XPS 13 (2020) is a brilliant performer, while remaining thin and light. There’s a wide range of customization options as well.
If you think Razer laptops are only for gaming, then the new Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition is here to prove you wrong. Razer takes its ever popular Razer Blade 15, fits it with even more impressive specs and turns it into one of the best mobile creative workstations has to offer. This powerhouse has been crafted for creative professionals and content creators, and is therefore ideal for musicians as well. You’ll be spending a lot of money to take this laptop home. But, make no mistake, it will be one of the smartest investments you’ll ever make. That is, if you can afford it.
With the third version of the Surface Laptop 3, Microsoft has made its best laptop yet. While it's not a huge leap over its predecessor, the Surface Laptop 3 does improve on almost every aspect. Best of all, with the 15-inch version you now get a choice of either Intel or AMD hardware. These are some of the most desirable laptops in the world that don't have a logo of an apple on them, with a new aluminum body that gives it a premium feel, while protecting it from knocks and drops when you’re on the road.
Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook came back in 2020 with a vengeance. Not only did it fix a lot of the complaints with its predecessors – namely, that problematic keyboard is now gone, replaced by a drastically improved keyboard. But it also came with new and more powerful internal components, even more storage space options, and a lower price of entry - making it ideal for musicians and DJs who are only starting out. There are a couple of things we’d do better, like the muted screen and the average battery life, but this model of the MacBook Air is better than anything we’ve seen from the line to date.
The Surface Pro finally gives the iPad Pro some competition
CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics | RAM: 8GB – 32GB | Screen: 13” PixelSense Flow Display (2880 x 1920p), up to 120Hz refresh | Storage: 128GB – 1TB
Faster processors
Gorgeous new design
Bigger display
Thunderbolt 4
More expensive
No more USB Type-A
Type Cover still sold separately
The newest iteration of the award-winning Microsoft Surface Pro line is a major improvement over the previous Surface Pro 7, which was still one of the best laptops for music production for those who wanted a more versatile iPad-style experience on a Windows device.
The Surface Pro 8 is even better in this regard, with a faster Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, better battery life thanks to Intel Evo certification, and upgraded RAM options to help keep your music production on track as your compositions get longer and more complex.
There is no more USB-A support though, so if you have any peripherals like Mics that use a USB-A, then you might have to get an adapter if you go with the Surface Pro 8.
The Dell XPS line just keeps getting better every year, and 2019’s 15-inch model is no exception. The webcam, which is smaller than ever, is back in its rightful place, and that optional 4K touch display is as stunning as ever. Better yet, this boasts the more powerful 9th-generation processors as well as up to 64GB of memory, which makes it ideal for handling those demanding DAW applications. And with up to 2TB of storage, you’ll have enough space to store your music files in. Unfortunately, those speakers are bottom-facing, but you’re better off using your audiophile headphones or speakers anyway.
Whether you're recording, editing, or mixing a new track, the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo 15 UX582L is about as functional a creative workstation as you're going to find anywhere, thanks to its dual-OLED touchscreen displays that let you keep your tools handy while freeing up your workspace to keep you focused on the task at hand.
While it doesn't have the latest 11th-gen Intel Core processors, the Core i7 and Core i9 are plenty powerful for nearly any task you want to throw at it, whether that's mixing live audio or recording a new session in a studio.
The battery life on this one isn't the best by any means, so make sure you have access to a power outlet while you're working on the go, or you might find the music stopping rather abruptly when you least expect it.
There is definitely a difference between what a music production laptop needs and what specs will make the most difference in your music production.
Obviously, a graphics card is not that high up on the list, but you're going to want the best processor you can get, specifically one with great single core performance. This tends to be the latest Intel Core processors, so the latest Core i7 and Core i9 processors will serve you well.
You're also going to be loading up some heavy duty software and working with some rather large raw audio files, so RAM is going to be very important. The more the better, but anything less than 8GB simply won't work at all and really the minimum you should aim for is 16GB RAM.
Storage will also come in handy, but if you need to save on cost, go for more RAM than more storage. You can always use an external SSD if you need to, but there's no such thing as external working RAM.
Which laptop is best for music making?
The best laptop for music production is going to depend on what part of the process you specifically need to use it for. If you're looking for something from initial audio recording to final mixing and publishing, than something like the MacBook Pro 16-inch is going to get you there.
But if you're looking for some portable options for on the road recording and some light editing, the latest Dell XPS laptops will work nicely and thanks to excellent battery life can last long enough to get through a good sized recording session.
How we test the laptops in this guide
There are two primary target audiences for the best RTX 3070 laptops: gamers and creatives, and we take two similar approaches to testing them out for their respective audiences.
For the core internal hardware, we run standard tests that stress the CPU and GPU with any hardware controls set to balanced for a consistent baseline across the various laptop manufacturers, including GeekBench 5, CineBench, PCMark 10, 3DMark, and Blender.
We also measure the frame rate of some PC gaming benchmarks, like Total War: Three Kingdoms and Metro: Exodus, to see how well the CPU and GPU work together to quickly render complex 3D scenes, which is just as important for a creative workstation as it is for gaming.
For gaming laptops specifically, we also spend a lot of time gaming on them (strictly for work purposes, we swear), and getting a feel for the actual experience a potential buyer can expect from the laptop. In the case of the best Nvidia laptops, this also means testing game performance with and without Nvidia DLSS enabled.
For creative workstations, there are several other benchmarking tools that we use, including encoding a 4K video in Handbrake and applying different filters and effects in different Adobe apps like Photoshop and After Effects to simulate its intended real-world use.
We also measure a laptop's battery life, since laptops are meant to be mobile devices to some degree, and if a laptop's battery dies out after three or four hours away from an outlet, that's an important thing to know, especially when even laptops running powerful hardware like a discrete Nvidia GPU are able to get seven or eight hours of battery life nowadays.
Finally, we compare all this with a laptop's MSRP and judge whether the price matches its performance. There are some very powerful laptops out there with great performance, but if they cost twice what their only slightly less powerful competitor does, then we make sure to let you know that.
Today's Best Laptop For Music Production Deals
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This week, along with announcing the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google also introduced Pixel Pass—a program that combines a subscription service bundle and the aforementioned Pixel 6 (or Pixel 6 Pro) under one roof. If you’re trying to decide whether the bundle is right for you, here are some things to consider.
AMD is hard at work designing its Zen 4 processor architecture, but before it arrives, there is still the matter of its Zen 3+ Rembrandt processors, a 6000-series APU line that should help AMD keep up with Intel's Alder Lake mobile chips next year. Now, a recently spotted online benchmark entry hints at the kinds of specs we can expect from AMD's upcoming mobile APU.
The specs come to us courtesy of Wccftech, who spotted the entry for an AMD engineering sample in the UserBenchmarks database running on a Corsair Xenomorph platform, which appears to be the branding on an upcoming AIO with an FP7 designation.
(Image credit: BenchLeaks)
The engineering sample features eight cores, 16 threads, and a base clock speed of 3.1GHz and a boost clock of 3.9GHz on average. It also features an RDNA 2 GPU though the exact core configuration isn't clear.
One way we can tell that this is definitely not a Zen 3 APU is that the Corsair platform is using DDR5 RAM at 4,800MHz, which existing Zen 3 chips aren't capable of supporting. It's also listed as a SODIMM module, which rules out the chip running on a desktop setup, all but declaring this to be the mobile Rembrandt APU, though whether it's the part of the Rembrandt-H or Rembrandt-U line isn't clear.
The architecture is more of an iterative improvement on the existing Zen 3 architecture though, so it doesn't have any major design innovations that we can tell beyond the typical optimizations you get with chips between major silicon generations.
It isn't clear either if the APU in the database features AMD's 3D-VCache technology, which we know AMD is compatible with existing Zen 3 architecture, since AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su showed off an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X prototype using the new module-stacking technology when 3D-VCache was revealed earlier this year.
AMD vs Intel: which chipmaker does processors better?
Analysis: will Rembrandt be enough to hold off a resurgent Intel?
There's no question that mobile devices is the fastest growing consumer computing market, and while the best laptops aren't as powerful as the best desktop PCs in terms of performance, their portability and versatility make them a much more attractive option for a lot of consumers than the traditional family PC in the living room.
This has been a major Achilles heel for AMD, since it has done a fantastic job of reaching near market parity with archrival Intel on the desktop processor segment this year, but it still lags behind Intel by a huge margin when it comes to laptop processors. AMD laptops still seem like a novel product right now, not a perfectly normal configuration you're expecting to see in your next laptop, as is the case with Intel chips.
If AMD is hoping to pivot to the mobile computing market segment with Rembrandt and its later Zen 4 processors, the company will be going up against Intel's Alder Lake chips, which have some distinct advantages.
Because it uses a big.LITTLE architecture, Intel Alder Lake is going to be able to leverage efficiency cores for background OS operations that can use up a lot of power in a laptop. And if the various leaks we've seen about the desktop SKU's of Intel's 12th-gen chips are any indication, Alder Lake is going to bring some serious performance boosts as well.
If Intel Alder Lake chips prove to be roughly as powerful or more so than AMD's mobile silicon, while also knocking it out of the park on energy efficiency which will translate directly into better battery life, than AMD could find itself back in the same hole it found itself in several years ago on the desktop segment.
When Intel introduced its Core series processors and AMD didn't have a real answer to it for several years, Intel ate up the desktop processor market until it had roughly 80% of the market to itself for years. It wasn't until AMD introduced its Ryzen processors that things finally started to turn back around on the desktop segment.
Something similar happened on the graphics card front when Nvidia released its RTX cards which featured ray-traced graphics and machine-learning-powered resolution upscaling in the form of DLSS.
AMD graphics cards simply couldn't compete on performance, and even though the make some of the best graphics cards on the market, Nvidia still gained a sizeable lead because it was the only ray tracing graphics card in town. AMD is in the process of catching up, but it does seem like that is an ongoing story with AMD. We'll see if history repeats itself once again.
With the launch of smart canvas earlier this year, Google made collaborating while working online even simpler in Google Workspace as the feature allows users to bring together all of its various tools including Docs, Meet, Sheets and Slides in any document they're working on.
As part of its mission to build the future of work, the search giant also introduced smart chips which enable users to add interactive building blocks to connect people, content and events into one seamless experience.
Now though, with its new universal @ menu, Google is making it easier to add things like tables and images in addition to smart chips directly into Google Docs. By typing “@” while in a document, users will see a list of recommended files, people, meetings, content elements and formats to insert into their work.
The addition of the company's @ menu ties together all of its online collaboration tools in a way that will likely help boost productivity as users won't have to switch tabs, apps or even leave the document they're working on to add rich elements to their content.
Page break before in Docs
In a separate post on the Google Workspace blog, Google revealed that Docs users can now mark a paragraph to always begin on a new page with its new “Add page break before” option.
This new feature is particularly useful for journalists and other writers that want certain paragraph styles to always create a new page such as titles, subtitles or headings.
At the same time though, “Add page break before” will also allow users to import and export Microsoft Word and other third-party documents that have this option applied to paragraphs and Google Docs will retain that formatting.
To get started using this formatting style, users can go to Format > Line & paragraph spacing in the Docs menu bar and click “add page break before” after highlighting a title, subtitle or heading.
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It’s (almost) that time of year again. When kids run giddily through the neighborhood (hopefully not freezing under those Star Wars costumes made of impossibly thin fabric) and return home with a metric ton of insulin-spiking, mood-altering candy that you—despite your best covert laundry-room nibbling efforts—can’t…
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QNAP has announced the launch of its new portable NAS device designed for mobile workers whose organizations have implemented hybrid work policies.
The company's new TBS-464 NASbook can be equipped with up to four M.2 SSDs for storage and the device supports HybridMount which allows users to mount files from their cloud storage to enable local caching to provide the ability to work with online files as quickly as they do with local files.
At the same time, the near-silent TBS-464 features two HDMI 2.0 4K 60Hz outputs, hardware-accelerated transcoding and streaming and includes QNAP's KoiMeeter for video conferencing and wireless presentations. The TBS-464 is also incredibly fast and with two 2.5GbE ports, the device can achieve speeds of up to 5 Gbps with Port Trunking.
Product manager at QNAP, Joseph Ching provided further insight on the business use cases of the TB-464 in a press release, saying:
“The TBS-464 NASbook packs serious performance and complete business applications into a tiny, portable frame. By seamlessly integrating cloud storage spaces, the TBS-464 provides the combined advantages of portability and storage flexibility to boost the abilities of modern offices and studios. With the ability to locally cache cloud-based files on the TBS-464, users can enjoy access speeds as if they were working within a LAN environment.”
QNAP TBS-464 NASbook
Under the hood, QNAP's TBS-464 is powered by an Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 (Jasper Lake) quad-core 4-thread processor that can burst up to 2.9 GHz with Intel AES-NI encryption engine, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports for faster data transfers.
The device runs the company's QTS 5 operating system which provides an optimized user interface and next-gen experience. Meanwhile, Hybrid Backup Sync (HBS) allows for efficient local, remote and cloud backup jobs while block-based snapshots make data protection and recovery easier to help organizations mitigate the threats of ransomware.
The TBS-464 also supports media playback to either a TV or monitor through its two HDMI ports and the device is even capable of converting 4K videos to universal file formats which can be played smoothly on multiple devices. As a result, QNAP's portable NAS device is an ideal solution for media streaming using Plex. However, organizations can extend its functionality further by using QNAP KoiMeeter to build a high-quality video conferencing system or to enable wireless presentations.
While QNAP has yet to announce the pricing and release date for the TBS-464, there is already a product page complete with support options available on its site which means it will likely be available quite soon.
Even years later, as a world-weary adult, I can clearly remember the excitement of getting a full-sized candy bar while trick-or-treating on Halloween. Households that handed them out were rare enough that you often heard about them from other kids first; word would quickly spread about what was instantly the coolest,…
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Battlefield 2042 is being touted as “the most ambitious” entry in the series yet, built in the latest Frostbite engine, with whopping 128-player maps available on the latest consoles and PC, while a host of new weapons, vehicles and gadgets are also being introduced - and yes, rumors of a robot dog were true.
And while Battlefield 2042 won’t have a campaign mode, or a Battle Royale mode as rumored, players will have access to three “distinct, standout multiplayer experiences” including a chaotic All-Out War Mode, a squad-based Hazard Mode and the Battlefield Portal, allowing players to create their own Battlefield experiences.
We don't have all that much longer to wait until we finally get our hands on the new Battlefield. We had a chance to play its open beta for ourselves, and we were left very impressed as a result. While you wait for the game's final release, read on for everything we know about Battlefield 2042 so far.
What is it? The next installment in the Battlefield game series
When can I play it? November 19, 2021
What can I play it on? PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One and PC
What is Battlefield 2042?
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Developed by EA DICE, Battlefield 2042 is a multiplayer-focused first-person shooter and the next entry in the veteran Battlefield series. Battlefield 2042 is technically Battlefield 6 and will be the 17th entry in the series. The new Battlefield will mark the series' official debut on PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Battlefield 2042 release date, platforms and price
(Image credit: EA DICE)
So when does the new Battlefield game come out? Well, Battlefield 2042 was originally set to release on October 22, 2021 but in September 2021, EA DICE confirmed that the game has been delayed and will now launch on November 19 2021. In a statement, DICE Studio GM Oskar Gabrielson explained the delay:
"Building the next generation of Battlefield during a global pandemic has created unforeseen challenges for our development teams. Given the scale and scope of the game, we had hoped our teams would be back in our studios together as we move towards launch. With the ongoing conditions not allowing that to happen safely, and with all the hard work the teams are doing from home, we feel it is important to take the extra time to deliver on the vision of Battlefield 2042 for our players.
Your enthusiasm for the game has been very inspiring. We believe in the game we’re making, and we thank you for your patience as we put some finishing touches into the experience."
Battlefield 2042 pre-orders are live now, with three different editions to choose from. The standard PS4, Xbox One and PC versions cost $59.99 / £59.99, while the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions cost $69.99 / £69.99. The Battlefield 2042 Gold Edition is also available for $89.99 / £89.99 on PC and $99.99 / £99.99 on console, while the Battlefield 2042 Ultimate Edition is $109.99 / £109.99 on PC or $119.99 / £119.99 on console. Australian pricing is TBC.
Battlefield 2042 trailers
Hazard Zone revealed
Battlefield 2042's Hazard Zone was finally revealed in all its glory in October 2021. As EA said, this is not a battle royale. See what exactly it'll bring to the table at launch below:
Specialists Gameplay
A trailer released in partnership with NVIDIA has given us a look at four of Battlefield 2042's specialists in action. You can see them for yourself below:
Exodus short film EA Dice released a short film called 'Exodus' which acts as a narrative precursor to the all-out war we’ll be experiencing in the new Battlefield, providing more depth to the story and world of Battlefield 2042. The film reintroduces Battlefield 4's Kimble "Irish" Graves, who is the commander of the No-Pat vessel Exodus (and will be a playable Specialist in 2042).
But while Irish is fighting for a better world for the displaced No-Pats, ideally with as few casualties as possible, the enigmatic Oz (an allusive puppet master) has a similar goal, but his approach is considerably more extreme: burning the old world down and starting anew. The short film sees Oz attacking the Exodus following a disagreement with Irish and ends with Irish telling his No-Pat comrades to prepare for war. Check it out below:
Battlefield Portal trailer EA Ripple Effect Studios revealed Battlefield 2042's third multiplayer experience, Battlefield Portal, with a trailer during EA Play Live 2021. The trailer shows the vast possibilities Battlefield Portal allows for, including a knife versus defibrillator fight. Check it out below:
Gameplay trailer EA Dice finally gave us a look at Battlefield 2042's gameplay in action during Microsoft and Bethesda's joint E3 2021 conference. The trailer gives us a look at the game's Hourglass map, set in Egypt.
The gameplay trailer shows tanks shooting down helicopters, which unceremoniously collapse in a heap of flames among the sandy dunes, while soldiers crawl all over the map like well-armored ants. The trailer also gives us a look at Hourglass’ neon-clad skyscrapers, with elevators allowing players to reach the top floor - and we’re hoping all the floors in between, though that wasn’t shown. Once players reach the top of these skyscrapers, they can zipline across to other rooftops or utilize their wingsuit to soar from their new vantage point.
The trailer also gives us a look at Battlefield 2042’s dynamic weather in action, which is bound to cause complete mayhem. The footage shows a tornado ripping through the Hourglass map, causing utter devastation, but these randomly generated world occurrences can either be a boon or bane for players. While you can choose to avoid the tornado - as much as possible - by seeking refuge in skyscrapers, you can also choose to utilize it to your advantage and devastate your enemies. Check out the trailer below:
Battlefield 2042 reveal trailer The first official trailer for Battlefield 2042 was shown during the Battlefield reveal on June 9. The trailer gives us our first proper look at Battlefield 2042's All-Out War mode and it, frankly, looks like it will be an epic affair featuring dynamic weather, huge battles and even robot dogs? Check it out below:
EA Play 2020
The new Battlefield was featured in a tech trailer during EA Play 2020, though we didn't know much about it back then. In the trailer, we only caught a glimpse of some "work in progress" footage, which showed facial animations and a large number of soldiers running into battle.
From the brief glimpses we saw, it looks like facial animations will be more realistic than previously and that we're going to see battlefields getting even larger this time round (the latter has been confirmed since).
"We are creating epic battles at a scale and fidelity unlike anything you've experienced before", EA's chief studios officer Laura Miele said during the video. Check it out for yourself below, at the 44-minute mark:
Battlefield 2042 setting
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Battlefield 2042 is set in a world that is on the brink of complete devastation. Food, energy and water shortages have led to the “greatest refugee crisis in human history”, following the failure of many of the world’s nations. Among these refugees are the “Non-Patriated” (also known as the No-Pats), made up of families, farmers, engineers and soldiers, who have been left without a nation to call their own.
The last two superpowers that remain are the United States and Russia, who are battling it out for control of the globe’s last remaining resources. In order to survive, Non-Pat Specialists join both sides so that, when the final bullet is fired, they have “a seat at the table”. Players will take on the role of one of these Non-Pat Specialists. According to developer EA Dice, players will team up with either Russia or the US “depending on the location in the world”, suggesting players may not always get a choice in who they side with.
EA DICE has called Battlefield 2042 a “true evolution” of the Battlefield franchise.
Battlefield 2042 multiplayer modes
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Battlefield 2042 will have three “distinct, standout multiplayer experiences” according to EA DICE, but Battle Royale isn’t one of them. EA DICE has also revealed that the new Battlefield game will have a battle pass for each season that will include a free and premium tier - though the premium tier will apparently only offer cosmetic items and never maps.
According to the developer, each season will push the world’s narrative forward and introduce new content. Battlefield 2042 is set to have four seasons in its first year - with four new Specialists to be introduced as well as new locations.
Here's everything we know about Battlefield 2042's multiplayer modes:
All-Out Warfare
(Image credit: EA DICE)
The first of these multiplayer experiences is All-Out War, which is described as the next-generation of the Conquest and Breakthrough modes we have seen in the series before.
This mode features huge 128-player maps on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X, while PS4 and Xbox One players will have 64-player versions of these maps, which have been scaled down for the last-gen consoles but are still larger than in previous entries (read on for more information on these maps). PS4 and Xbox One players will still have access to the same weapons, vehicles, specialists and gadgets as those on the latest console generation, and will experience dynamic weather events such as tornadoes. EA DICE has assured players “that gameplay, events and moments will all be felt for Battlefield players on whatever platform they play on”.
Conquest mode is the “classic all-out war experience” and will see players fighting over a massive space. According to EA DICE, this mode has a lot of varied pacing, with players choosing where to go and how to fight. EA DICE says that Conquest will feature moments with lots of players, making combat a bit chaotic, while other moments will be less chaotic and more personal.
Breakthrough, on the other hand, is a more guided experience. This mode sees one side attacking and the other defending, in an attempt to capture areas, and will see both sides coming head-to-head in massive clashes.
Hazard Zone
The second of Battlefield 2042's multiplayer experiences is Hazard Zone, an “all-new, high-stakes, squad-based game-type for the Battlefield franchise”. It was revealed in all its glory in October 2021 and, as EA said, it really isn’t a battle royale. Instead, Hazard Zone is an objective-based mode where four-player squads have to work together to locate fallen satellites, secure their data drives and extract the spoils against the clock. To add to the challenge, other enemy squads are after the same limited rewards and AI-controlled forces will be defending the territory too.
It's a mode that requires strategy and tactics and the winning team isn’t the last one standing, either. Instead, teams are aiming to successfully extract at least one of their players from the match with what they’ve been able to gather. Retrieving and extracting data drives will garner your team dark market credits, a currency just for Hazard Zone which can be spent on upgrades and better equipment.
Hazard Zone will be available at launch and it’ll use all seven maps already confirmed for All-Out Warfare. On PS4 and Xbox One Hazard Zone will allow for 24 players (that’s six squads of four) while PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC owners have 32 players (eight squads of four).
Battlefield Portal
(Image credit: EA)
Battlefield Portal is Battlefield 2042's third multiplayer experience and will allow Battlefield 2042 players to build, discover and share their own custom Battlefield sandbox game experiences, with content from Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 1942, Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 at their disposal.
Players have some classic fan-favorite maps to play with, with a total of 13 maps across the Battlefield franchise available at launch (more on that below). You can't create your own map from scratch, but you can tweak an existing map from the franchise with rules, items, and event triggers to make your own new experiences.
These maps can be used as staging grounds for building a Battlefield experience, but players also have the option to access EA Ripple Studios’ “official experiences” which allow them to relive these iconic, reimagined battles and deathmatches as well as the custom creations of others in the community.
Battlefield 2042 maps
(Image credit: EA)
All-Out War maps
Battlefield 2042's All Out War multiplayer experience will launch with seven new maps. Due to the size of these maps, each is broken into distinct sectors, with multiple objectives within those sectors which are arranged in clusters. Clusters are areas where objects and objectives are focused in one space, such as a village, stadium or oil platform, with capture areas within them. To capture a Sector players need to capture all the flags/areas within that Sector (in other words, the Clusters).
EA Dice gives the example, for Conquest mode, that your team is attacking a Sector and captures the first flag. Instead of running to the second, this capture of the first flag gives your team a foothold in the Sector, allowing you to spawn there, take the enemy head-on and capture further flags.
“This creates a higher intensity fight for the full Sector,” EA Dice explained in a blog post. “Only when the full Sector has fallen do you make the decision on where to go next. This reduces the back and forth running between flags and puts focus on the Sector itself.”
The developer has also confirmed that different game modes will use different sectors of Battlefield’s large maps. So the areas of the map you see in Conquest won’t necessarily be the same in Breakthrough, for example.
In addition, it's been confirmed that players–- unfortunately – can’t visit every floor in the skyscrapers featured in some maps, with only lobby and rooftop combat available. However, elements such as airspace are set to be larger than in previous games, meaning players need to travel further before they hit an out-of-bounds warning.
Check out Battlefield 2042's launch maps below:
Kaleidoscope(Image credit: EA DICE)
Kaleidoscope
Set in Songdo, South Korea, this will see you clashing to control a disinformation hub. This map features huge skyscrapers with multiple floors, canals outside with amphibious vehicles, a TV station, and ziplines allowing you to traverse across rooftops.
Manifest(Image credit: EA DICE)
Manifest Set in Branai Island, Singapore, players will fight for access to supply lines. This map features a massive container yard and automated cranes which pick up and move containers as you play. Players can also access ships that contain capture points. Combat in this map apparently gets “intense”.
Orbital(Image credit: EA DICE)
Orbital
Set in Kourou, French Guiana, this map sees you battling over a rocket launch site as a “controversial space launch becomes a race against time”. This map sees a lot of action around the rocket launch and surrounding area, and the rocket can even take off - but apparently, it doesn’t always go as planned...
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Discarded
Set in Alang, India, this map sees factions fighting to secure rogue nuclear assets. There are huge stranded ships dotted around this map, which were stranded due to the changing water levels, including one called ‘Colossus’ which hides a submarine inside.
Renewal(Image credit: EA DICE)
Renewal
Set in the Eastern Desert, Egypt, Renewal sees players fighting for a groundbreaking agriculture technology center in the Egyptian Desert. This is a map of two halves: one side lush and green and the other desert wasteland.
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Hourglass
Set in Doha, Qatar, Hourglass is a “city lost in time” and sees players fighting for a lost convoy. One of the larger maps, this map features a neon city, with skyscrapers that light up as massive sandstorms pass through, a stadium overrun by sand, and a huge highway intersection where the convoy has come to stop.
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Breakaway Set in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, Breakaway is Battlefield 2042’s largest map at 5.9km2. This map sees players fighting over oil and gas reserves, and features exploding silos and distinct combat areas.
Due to the size of these maps, each is broken into distinct sectors, with multiple objectives within those sectors which are arranged in clusters. Clusters are areas where objects and objectives are focused in one space, such as a village, stadium or oil platform. These sectors change how you take control of areas, with securing a sector requiring completing all the objectives within that sector.
Battlefield Portal maps
(Image credit: EA)
In addition to the seven maps being introduced in Battlefield 2042, Battlefield Portal will also give players access to the Caspian Border and Noshahr canals maps from Battlefield 3, the El Alamein map and Battle of the Bulge maps from Battlefield 1942, and the Arica Harbor and Valparaiso maps from Bad Company 2.
All these maps have been reimagined and revamped to run in 4K at 60fps - with EA Ripple Effect Studios explaining that the latest tech has allowed it to “overcome the limitations of the past”. Built in the latest Frostbite engine, these reimagined classic maps also allow for 128-players on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC (PS4 and Xbox One will still be restricted to 64 players) - though players can choose to simply keep to the original player count on new hardware if they prefer.
Battlefield 2042 Specialists
Players will take on the role of Specialists in Battlefield 2042, soldiers with their own unique Special Trait and Speciality, but with fully customizable loadouts - so you can use any weapon. While loadouts for each of these Specialists can be customized, the Specialty and Trait of each Specialist is unique to them, and can’t be changed. Players can, however, customize their Specialist’s primary weapon, equipment (like medkits), secondary weapon and throwable (like grenades).
Specialties can take the form of a grappling hook, which lets Assault Specialists zip to higher spots; an OV-P Recon Drone, which allows Recon Specialists to pinpoint targets; or a S21 Syrette Pistol, allowing Support Specialists to fire health vials at those who need them.
The new Battlefield will launch with 10 Specialists, with each falling under a traditional class of either Engineer, Assault, Support or Recon. So far, we know of five Specialists - with the other five to be revealed "later this year". The developer also confirmed that, while squads can only consist of a maximum of four players, squads in the Conquest and Breakthrough multiplayer modes can consist of more than one of the same Specialist – and you’ll even be able to customize their skins if you want yours to stand out a bit.
Check out the confirmed Specialists below:
(Image credit: EA)
Kimble "Irish" Graves
Place of Birth: USA
Class: Engineer
Specialty: Fortification System
Trait: Veteran
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Wikus “Casper” Van Daele Place of Birth: South Africa
Class: Recon
Specialty: OV-P Recon Drone
Trait: Movement Sensor
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Webster MacKay Place of Birth: Canada
Class: Assault
Specialty: Grappling Hook
Trait: Nimble
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Maria Falck Place of Birth: Germany
Class: Support
Specialty: S21 Syrette Pistol
Trait: Combat Surgeon
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Pyotr “Boris” Guskovsky Place of Birth: Russia
Class: Engineer
Specialty: SG-36 Sentry Gun
Trait: Sentry Operator
Specialists can change their weapon configuration on the go thanks to Battlefield 2042’s new ‘Plus System’ - which allows you to change your scope, undertype, barrel and ammo type on the move. Players will also have access to a wingsuit so they can glide off tall structures in maps.
Players will also get access to new weapons including an M5A3, K30 and AV9. In addition, vehicles will play a big role in this game, with players able to access tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and more - which can be requested at any time to any location. According to EA DICE, vehicles in Battlefield 2042 are a “platform for great team play”. Each vehicle seat has a vital role to play, so having more players in your vehicle makes it a more efficient weapon.
Battlefield 2042 gameplay
All-Out War gameplay
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Battlefield 2042 is set to lean into the sandbox experience more than any other entry in the series. Maps in All-Out Warfare have dynamic weather which will see players avoiding (or utilizing) the likes of tornadoes and sandstorms - one Specialist even comes equipped with a wingsuit so they can harness these elements to their advantage. In addition, Battlefield 2042 features destructible environments and terrain, ground deformation and levelution, while there will also be “smaller ways” to interact with the world including raising or lowering bollards and bridges to prevent vehicles from passing.
Players will also get access to new weapons including an M5A3, K30 and AV9. In addition, vehicles will play a big role in this game, with players able to access tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and more. Players will be able to call in vehicles when and where they need them – as long as the team budget, map and mode allow for it. However, there will be a cooldown so players aren’t spawning vehicles constantly.
Each faction will get its own iconic Russian or US vehicles, with the Russian side being able to utilize a T28 tank while the US side can use an M1A5 tank.
According to EA DICE, vehicles in Battlefield 2042 are a “platform for great team play”. Each vehicle seat has a vital role to play, so having more players in your vehicle makes it a more efficient weapon.
In addition, a nice quality-of-life feature means that Specialists can change their weapon configuration on the go thanks to Battlefield 2042’s new ‘Plus System’ - which allows you to change your scope, undertype, barrel and ammo type on the move.
The Battlefield 2042 trailers have also given us a look at the Ranger, the armored robot dog that players can call in when they’re in a pickle or to act as a decoy. EA Dice has confirmed that Ranger is neither a Specialty nor Trait and won’t be unique to any Specialist, so any player can call one in – as long as one is available.
Players will be able to give the Ranger orders, resulting in “several new interesting tactical options”. You can even pop an EMT on it and send it behind enemy lines.
Battlefield Portal gameplay
(Image credit: EA)
The crux of Battlefield Portal is creating your own custom Battlefield experiences and discovering the creations of others. Battlefield Portal will contain a web-based platform called the Battlefield builder, accessible through the game on console or PC, where you can create your ideal experience using all the content from Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 1942, Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 2042.
Battlefield builder takes players through a step-by-step process whereby they can choose which maps they want to include in their experience, which game type they want (with custom available as an option), as well as options to choose which era of Battlefield they want each side to play as, and which faction. So, for example, you could pit Battlefield 2042’s USA against Battlefield 1942’s Russia.
The era you choose for each side then allows that side access to all the content from that specific era. Unfortunately, you can’t mix and match. Players can then decide which weapons and vehicles they want each side to have access to as well as more specific elements like which attachments, items and ammo types they can use, just to name a few.
Players can get pretty specific in these general customizations, choosing how many players you have in each team, how those teams are weighted towards AI, projectile speed and so on.
(Image credit: EA)
Players can get even more specific in these customizations thanks to the logic editor, which allows players to create blocks to build very specific game modes and experiences from scratch, such as having players’ health replenish when they get a kill. It looks very similar to modding, with players able to set conditions, variables and actions as part of subroutines.
After players are done creating their experience, they can choose to share with the community, allowing others to try it out and offer feedback - that you can either accept or ignore. The Battlefield Portal landing page will also feature a rotating curation of the most popular experiences, allowing you to try the experiences of others - with a “robust tagging system” allowing you to find specific experience types.
Though, if you prefer to keep your experience private, then you can choose to only share with select friends - with admin controls allowing you to message, kick and ban players. You can also play alone, if you so choose, as the minimum number of players is only one - though you’ll likely need AI to pad out the rest.
All the content from Battlefield 2042 All-Out War is available in this builder, including the ability to call in vehicles on command, with new content set to be added as it rolls out. It’s also worth noting that thanks to a global progression system, players will still gain experience from playing Battlefield Portal matches.
Battlefield 2042: technical playtest and beta
(Image credit: EA DICE)
Battlefield's pre-release open beta has come and gone, having taken place in early October 2021. Now, it's simply a matter of waiting for the game's November release date. We had a chance to play the beta for ourselves and found it to be chaotic, sometimes overwhelming, fun. Overall, we had a great time with it, finding a lot to enjoy in the game's specialists and its increased players size.
Battlefield 2042 crossplay: which platforms can play together?
EA Dice has confirmed Battlefield 2042 will have crossplay, though not everyone will be able to play together.
Battlefield 2042 will allow for crossplay between PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC – with PC and console players able to opt-out of playing together – however, those on Xbox One and PS4 will only be able to crossplay with each other. This is likely due to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Battlefield 2042 having scaled-down maps, in comparison to the current-gen equivalents.
EA Dice has also confirmed its building cross-progression and cross-commerce for Battlefield 2042, which will allow your progress and purchases to carry across platforms. So, for example, you would be able to carry your progress from PS4 to PC or Xbox One.
Battlefield 2042 AI bots: how will they work?
Battlefield 2042 launches, players on Xbox Series X, PS5 and PC will be able to play in servers with up to 128 players at once. However, players might not always be facing off against humans in these matches.
Speaking to The Verge, EA explained that AI bots will come into play and that up to 64 'AI soldiers' could be used to fill up empty lobbies depending on factors like your region, platform and the time of day.
In a follow-up blog post by EA Dice, the developer explained that these AI soldiers will be used in Multiplayer, Co-Op and Solo modes. In Multiplayer, the AI soldiers’ purpose is to fill servers that don’t have enough human players – though human players will “always have priority over AI when playing multiplayer”. In Co-Op, players will be able to play with friends against AI soldiers. In solo, you can play alone against AI soldiers if you aren’t comfortable fighting against real players, or want to get to grips with Battlefield before jumping into these matches – but you’ll still need to be online.
So how will these AI soldiers play? According to the developer, these soldiers will play like human players, although they won’t have access to Specialities or Traits like their human counterparts. Whether you like it or not, there won’t be an option to opt out of playing with these AIs.
“In general, you will not experience more AI soldiers than players unless the match is still filling-up, or almost empty,” EA Dice explained in a blog post. “Players will always have matchmaking priority over AI. As an example: if there are 120 players out of 128 players currently playing in a server, eight AI Soldiers will join the match to help even out the teams. Should a player leave, another AI Soldier will temporarily replace them until a new player joins the game. We’re providing them as a helpful option to ensure you won’t have trouble matchmaking and can fully enjoy the all-out warfare chaos you can expect from a Battlefield match”.
Last-gen players are even less likely to encounter bots as, while bots will be used to fill their servers too, the max lobby size is just 64 on older consoles and many Battlefield 2042 players are likely to be using last-gen hardware thanks to ongoing next-gen shortages.
These AI players will reportedly scale based on a player’s skill and AI battles will still contribute to a player's overall progress.
Battlefield 2042 news and rumors
(Image credit: EA)
We're rounded up all the biggest news and rumors surrounding Battlefield 2042 below:
PC specs confirmed
Ahead of Battlefield 2042’s October beta, EA has announced the PC specs that will be required to play the game. While the minimums are pretty reasonable, what EA recommends to get the most out of the game is a little more beefy.
Minimum requirements:
OS: 64-bit Windows 10
CPU: Intel i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti or AMD RX 560
RAM: 8GB
VRAM: 4GB
DirectX: 12
Storage: 100GB
Recommended specs:
OS: 64-bit Windows 10
CPU: Intel i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
RAM: 16GB
VRAM: 8GB
DirectX: 12
Storage: 100GB SSD
Reports of a delay prove correct
Following reports from industry insiders that Battlefield 2042 could be subject to a delay, EA has now confirmed that is the case. In a statement, EA confirmed that the game's release date will shift from October 22 to November 19 2021 and that an update on plans for the game's beta will come later in September.
Exodus short film
EA recently released Exodus, a short Battlefield 2042 film embedded above, which gives us a brief look at the world of the game and helps to set up its overarching narrative. The film reintroduces Battlefield 4’s Kimble “Irish” Graves, played by The Wire’s Michael K Williams, who is now the Captain of a Non-Pat refugee ship called the Exodus and will be a playable Specialist in the game. According to EA Dice, Irish’s return acts as somewhat of a bridge for players between the modern world and the world of Battlefield 2042.
But while Irish is fighting for a better world for the displaced No-Pats, ideally with as few casualties as possible, the enigmatic Oz (an allusive puppet master) has a similar goal, but his approach is considerably more extreme: burning the old world down and starting anew. EA Dice compared the rivalry to that of X-Men’s Professor Xavier and Magneto: same goal, vastly different approaches.
The short film sees Oz attacking the Exodus following a disagreement with Irish and ends with Irish telling his No-Pat comrades to prepare for war.
EA Dice is attempting to balance the narrative line with Battlefield 2042: providing an overarching narrative for those who want it, though given there’s no campaign mode you may need to go outside the game to truly embrace it, and simply focusing on creating an immersive, enjoyable world for those whose focus is solely on great gunplay.
Explaining the narrative
Battlefield 2042 is foregoing a single-player story-driven campaign mode but that’s not to say there’s going to be no narrative at all. After setting up the game’s overarching story in its Exodus short film, the Narrative team at DICE has recently explained how the game will be telling its story over time.
The team seems to be embracing a narrative which players can discover for themselves, providing threads to pull rather than serving a story up. “I’ve always thought the best stories, and at least the best worlds are those that leave a little hidden behind the curtain,” said Producer Ben Walke, “I like that we’re not coming out and saying everything.”
“One thing that is interesting to us is how one event can seem completely different when filtered through three entirely different perspectives,” explained Narrative Designer Justin Langley, “In the game we have Specialists, and they all come from varying backgrounds. Although they’re all aware of these events, some have different perspectives, and some of those perspectives might differ and there might be some conversation about that in the game as well.”
It seems, then, that the specialist a player picks will be something of a lens through which the game’s story will filter, providing the player with one perspective of many. According to EA, the game’s narrative will “evolve over time” as new specialists are added. There’s an effort in Battlefield 2042, Langley adds, to show that “a broad spectrum of people are affected by the events in-game” and to bring those perspectives together, particularly when it comes to the No-Pats and No-Pat Task Force players will be playing. “I think it’s important you get a lot of different voices on the ideas of these cataclysmic events because it’s so easy to get locked into a singular, superficial perspective”.
In the game, the team explains, news outlets from opposing sides of the conflict won’t necessarily tell the truth and what’s said on either side also won’t always match up with what players are witnessing on the ground. “It’s a really different and fun way of storytelling since it’s all built into the level,” says Narrative Designer Michael Hartin, “you’ll find the narrative if you want to find it. If you’re less inclined to do that, you’ll just shoot the enemy team and move on. We tried to build the story in a discoverable sense. So, if you’re walking around the map… maybe keep your eyes and ears on alert for some visual and audio cues.”
Langley says they see it as “a good allegory for a lot of military conflicts in the real world. That element just gives this a sort of touchstone of reality.”
Tornadoes 'ruin' the experience, according to leaker In a tweet, known Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson claimed that early feedback from sources that have played the new Battlefield has been critical of the game's tornado feature.
"Early feedback of the tornadoes in [Battlefield 2042] are essentially 'they are fun and cool to see for the first few times, but they become very repetitive and ruin the classic BF experience and flow of the map'", Henderson tweeted.
Henderson went on to explain that this feedback comes from multiple sources who played early iterations of the new Battlefield "a few months ago", before the latest tests started taking place.
The leaker suggested that this issue could have been a result of the "spawn" rate of tornadoes being turned up for testing – making sure those who test actually get to experience the feature – and that this issue will likely be "adjusted" before final release.
Early feedback of the tornadoes in #BATTLEFIELD2042 are essentially "they are fun and cool to see for the first few times, but they become very repetitive and ruin the classic BF experience and flow of the map"July 12, 2021
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Will support DLSS and Nvidia reflex tech Battlefield 2042 will support Nvidia DLSS technology. DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to intelligently upscale images, effectively allowing you to play games at higher resolutions, and with more intensive graphical effects, without the performance hit of running at native resolutions.
Not only are Battlefield games fast-paced, but they are often graphical showcases as well, and DLSS could work really well, in this case, to provide seriously impressive graphics, while keeping everything running smoothly. DLSS relies on the Tensor Cores that are only found in Nvidia RTX graphics cards, which means the feature isn’t available on AMD cards, or older Nvidia GTX GPUs (although AMD has finally released its own answer to DLSS, FidelityFX Super Resolution.
Battlefield 2042 is also getting Nvidia Reflex technology as well, which aims at reducing latency – so the time it takes for you to move your mouse or press a keyboard key, and the game registering it should be noticeably reduced.
This will lead to a far more responsive game, and a hectic multiplayer title like Battlefield 2042 could really benefit from it.
(Image credit: EA)
Battlefield 2042 briefing
EA DICE held a Battlefield 2042 briefing on June 15 which saw the developer explaining further details on the new Battlefield, following the gameplay reveal on June 13. You can watch the full video on Twitch.
No Battle Royale plans EA DICE confirmed during a virtual preview of Battlefield 2042 that the developer has no plans to include a Battle Royale mode at launch.
EA recruits Call of Duty exec EA has recruited a former Call of Duty exec to help grow the Battlefield series. The company recently announced it has hired former Call of Duty General Manager, Byron Beede, as the General Manager and Senior Vice President on the Battlefield (via IGN). With EA saying that the hire "signals a strategic, long-term commitment to the growth of the franchise".
But it's Beede's experience that is most interesting. Beede has previously been the General Manager of both the Call of Duty and Destiny franchises, most notably worked on the launch of Call of Duty's live service offering, Call of Duty Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone.
While Beede is set to focus primarily on the future of the Battlefield franchise, his knowledge of live service games will likely be a huge boon to Battlefield 2042.
