Battlefield 2042 Season 1 is almost here after a rather lengthy wait, and there is a heap of improvements and new content heading to the large-scale shooter which EA and DICE will hope will give the game another shot.
The most notable piece of news to come from today’s Season 1 developer update is that Hazard Zone – 2042’s attempt at making an Escape From Tarkov-style extraction mode – will no longer be supported. While the mode will not be switched off entirely, DICE is halting any future development of the mode and any additional content to focus on Battlefield 2042’s remaining modes, All Out Warfare and Portal.
“All of us on the team had great ambition and high hopes for this new Battlefield experience throughout our development, but we’re the first to hold our hands up and acknowledge that it hasn’t found the right home in Battlefield 2042 and that we’ll benefit greatly from letting our focus and energy stay on the modes we see you engaging most with,” DICE says.
For Season 1, there will be a brand new map, potentially set in Canada judging by the excited remarks of Battlefield 2042’s Canadian senior producer Ryan McArthur. McArthur also says it will be “different” from the seven launch maps, with lots of verticality and aspects that have made past Battlefield maps enjoyable.
Later in Season 1, a map rework to Kaleidoscope will also drop, which adjusts the layout and flow of the map, adds lots more cover, and adds all-new areas as well. A rework for Renewal is also in the works but that won’t be arriving until Season 2.
All-Out Warfare is also expanding now that the 2042 devs have “unshackled” themselves from having 128 players on the map. While 128-player modes aren’t going anywhere, All-Out Warfare is welcoming more maps from Portal’s map pool, and Rush will be added as a permanent mode.
There are plenty more changes detailed in the video above, or on the update post here. Season 1 is going to be a crucial moment for Battlefield 2042, and marks the start of at least a year of support broken up into four seasons of content.