Battlefield 2042 was supposed to be the next major game in the Battlefield franchise, but a rough launch that it’s still recovering from has left many longtime fans frustrated and the game itself in a constant state of updates to try and salvage it. On Monday, the latest of those updates was announced and the 128 player option for the game mode, Breakthrough, is no longer going to be available.
In the latest patch notes for the game, DICE explained that it has decided to reduce the player count for Breakthrough from 128 to 64. The goal is to create a more tactical gameplay experience with better pacing. Since Breakthrough is supposed to be a little less arcadey than the traditional Conquest mode, the change does make some sense if the goal is to funnel players into playing more strategically. Via Patch Notes 4.1.
When reviewing Breakthrough, we noted that the 64 player version represented a more tactical experience. Reducing our player count here helps to remove some of the chaos from the experience, and in combination with the reductions that we have made to the number of available combat vehicles, it means players are better able to hold frontlines more effectively. Players will also find more space to work together and fulfill their individual roles
While this change makes sense, it’s still a huge shock to see DICE move away from one of the major selling points of Battlefield 2042. While other military shooters out there such as Call of Duty have traditionally focused on giving players a more confined combat experience, Battlefield has always been about creating huge bombastic battles with dozens of players on the map at once. 2042 wanted to take those moments and make them even bigger through the addition of 128 player combat, but it’s possible that 128 players are just too many for modes like Breakthrough that require a little bit more strategy to them than something like Conquest.