The Battlefield 2042 technical playtest has been pushed back, delaying the first chance for players outside of EA to get their hands on the near-future online shooter.
EA confirmed the delay for the Battlefield 2042 technical playtest in a sprawling update about the game ahead of its upcoming appearance at EA Play Live. While the playtest was originally scheduled to begin this month, EA and DICE are now saying that it will be "later this summer." While it may be disappointing news for Battlefield fans who were hoping for an early spot, EA is encouraging interested parties to update their EA Playtesting profile.
The Battlefield 2042 technical playtest will be distinct from a more typical beta test, being first and foremost "a development-led environment with only a subset of features" - so don't expect to get a complete look at all the stuff the full game will offer at launch. EA plans to allow a few thousand participants to join the test, and it will reach out to them personally based on their playtesting profile and experience with the series - no need to fill out any other forms yourself, or to spam the Battlefield social media accounts with requests for an invite.
Part of the reason for the playtest delay is so that DICE can make sure it supports crossplay: PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S testers will all matchmake in the same player pool (which should help ensure you aren't matched up with too many bots, assuming they're even enabled for the playtest). The Battlefield 2042 crossplay plan will remain consistent beyond the playtest as well, with the added option for PC and console players to opt-out of playing with each other; cross-play across PS4 and Xbox One will be supported as well, and since they'll have their own smaller, 64-player maps it makes sense that they'll have their own matchmaking pool as well.
EA has previously confirmed that it also plans to host a more traditional beta experience for Battlefield 2042, so don't fret too much if you aren't picked for the platest. We're also looking forward to finding out what the new Battlefield 2042 experience led by Ripple Effect Studios (formerly DICE LA) will be when it debuts at EA Play Live on July 22, especially now that we know it's going to bring back some fan-favorite maps from Battlefield history.
For more from EA's blog post, be sure to check out our Battlefield 2042 FAQ round-up.
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