The next major update for Battlefield 2042 has been delayed, pushing back the rollout of several much-anticipated features for DICE’s ailing multiplayer shooter, including a new scoreboard.
The 3.3 patch had originally been scheduled for release later this week, but has been pushed to next week so the Battlefield 2042 dev team can be “best positioned to support in case of any issues that might have cropped up over the weekend”, according to an official forum post.
The update will refresh the UI of the game’s scoreboard, something that fans of the series have been calling for since 2042 released back in November last year. The new scoreboard will now display player deaths and kills, as well as team stats that highlight the leaders of each.
At the same time, the Steadfast Exclusive Legendary Bundle will also be given to players who purchased the game’s gold or ultimate edition, as well as those who bought its Year 1 pass. The bundle is intended as compensation for players who purchased access to the game’s first season DLC before it was delayed by several months.
A range of additional fixes will also go live when the update rolls out next week, which will be detailed in a larger set of patch notes.
Weekly challenges will resume when the 3.3 update goes live after last week’s challenge, which awarded players a skin for a fictional Russian helicopter, was prematurely pulled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Analysis: not a good look for an already ailing game
DICE’s decision to delay the 3.3 update, even for just a week, will do it no favors among Battlefield 2042’s already irritated community. Players have been asking for a new scoreboard for months, and DICE has already delayed the scoreboard hotfix once to give itself more development time.
Among the slate of technical bugs and gameplay glitches that have riddled the game since launch, the absence of a full scoreboard has been a consistent complaint among players. Many were confused or aggravated that 2042’s scoreboard focused on measuring team performance over your individual player score, in stark contrast to past games of the series.
A fully-fledged scoreboard should go some way to alleviate the disappointment of some fans, but won’t entirely turn around the game’s fortunes. Graphical glitches and game-breaking bugs continue to push players away, as does the absence of what some consider to be vital features, such as voice chat.
The game’s playerbase has plummeted over the last few months, now dropping below that of its nine-year-old predecessor Battlefield 4. Future updates will have to come thick and fast if DICE wants to cling on to the remaining players.
- Take to the field in one of the best FPS games
