A Battlefield 2042 free weekend and sale has been announced less than a month after EA Dice's first-person shooter launched worldwide.
Battlefield 2042 has undeniably had a shaky start -- that's not good news for the game that's supposed to kick off a wider, multi-game Battlefield universe. Still, EA Dice has been responsive to some of the most immediate player concerns, most recently with the launch of the year's final major update and time-limited 64-player game modes on PC and next-gen consoles. Now, a Battlefield 2042 free weekend and sale has launched.
Can the Battlefield 2042 Free Weekend and Sale Save the Game?
The Battlefield 2042 free weekend and sale can be interpreted as worrying news for the game, especially since it only launched less than a month ago (or just over a month if you count the week-long Early Access period).
While it's entirely possible that the sale and free weekend were planned in advance, it's difficult to ignore the fact that the peak player numbers on Steam have gone down by around 80% and the average player count on Steam has dropped by around 40% according to Steam Charts. (While Steam is not the only platform the game is available on, it is undeniably one of the biggest PC storefronts.)
The Battlefield 2042 free weekend has already started (as highlighted on Reddit) and will run until Monday, December 20, 2021; odds are, the free weekend will end at the usual update time of approximately 3:00 AM Eastern Time. The Standard Edition of the game is also 34% off, dropping its price from $59.99 to $39.59. You can also get the Gold Edition for $69.29 (23% off) and the Ultimate Edition for $89.09 (19% off).
Whether you've played it or not, there's good reason to jump into the game and give it a fair shake aside from the updates, fixes, and balance changes that have deployed over the last month. Aside from the new 64-player modes, a special holiday event called "Attack of the Elves" has launched on the Battlefield Portal according to Battlefield Bulletin and all players who log into the game can score some free holiday-themed cosmetics. You can play Battlefield 2042 for free on Steam until Monday, December 20, 2021.
Do you think the Battlefield 2042 free weekend and sale is a bad sign? What do you think of the game's post-launch update progress? Let us know in the comments below!
