The Battlefield 6 open beta is over. I’m sure everyone let out a final burst of fire that sounded equally triumphant and tragic at its conclusion. But wait, say EA, FPS lovers, where do you all think you’re going?
It’s at this point the publishers whip out Battlefield 2042, the much-maligned at release previous entry in the series, like they’re yanking a rabbit out of a marine’s helmet. He’s not Battlefield 2042 anymore, they say, he’s the “road to Battlefield 6”. A road one can only assume is littered with IEDs and checkpoints where five people are standing around looking mean.
This boulevard to blast central is update 9.2, and it’s chunky enough that I’d class it as a full-on repaint the road markings affair. Classic map Iwo Jima makes its 2042 debut, with “boat landings, bunkers, and trenches on a reimagined 700×200 map”. Oh, and an active volcano in case you want to renounce your warlike ways and take up volcanology.
Weapon-wise, there are two new guns – the KFS2000 assault rifle and the Lynx sniper rifle. Only the former’s being dished out to everyone, with the Lynx only being given to folks who played the Battlefield 6 beta to start with. EA insist anyone who didn’t hop into the beta will get a chance to grab it “later down the line”. Meanwhile, two new attack jets, the A10 Warthog and SU-25TM Frogfoot, have been added in. EA say they come with some revamped abilities and are designed to be “vehicle busters”.
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That sounds a bit rough for folks down below, trundling along the “road to Battlefield 6” in tanks or jeeps. Anyway, I’ll drop the metaphor. The “road to Battlefield 6” is actually a 60-tiered free battle pass featuring a bunch of gear inspired by the series’ history. It includes some stuff to unlock for Battlefield 6 itself and will run from August 18th to October 7th.
If you want a reminder of what Battlefield 2042 was like when it first debuted, here’s Ed’s review. It’s also evolved a fair bit since then, so a run through our 2042 news archives is probably a good shout if you want cluing up on some of the changes EA have made over the years.