Battlefield 2042 officially revealed – near-future combat, 128 players and the biggest maps in series history

The next Battlefield no longer exists in leaks and poor quality trailers.

Battlefield 2024 was finally revealed moments ago in a livestream. The game is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 22. Here's where you can place a Battlefield 2042 pre-order.

Battlefield 2024 was introduced to the world with the help of an in-engine trailer, which is how DICE typically likes to reveal its games. This is supposed to hold us over until the gameplay trailer, which is being shown at Xbox and Bethesda’s E3 showcase on Sunday, June 13.

Battlefield 2042 takes place in a near-future world devastated by global warming-induced disasters. As countries around the world struggle to protect their own, many close their boarders to refugees, in the midst of a worldwide economic and political crises. These events give birth to groups of people referred to as Non-Patriated (or No-Pats), whose homelands have collapsed. No-Pats are people from all walks of life, and do not associate with any particular country or flag.

Two years before the events of the main game, a massive communication blackout caused by the crash of the majority of Earth’s satellites thrusts the US and Russia into a conflict over resources, and the two superpowers end up recruiting No-Pats to fight their proxy wars.

Battlefield 2042’s weaponry and armour are fictional, but based on real-world weapons and vehicles, with some liberties taken with their design and function. The game also includes a few current-day porotypes, such as robotic dogs, automated turrets, drones and the like.

The game supports 128-player matches on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (64 on last gen), which take place on the series’ biggest ever maps. On top of their impressive scale, 2042 maps also have dynamic weather conditions, such as active tornados, sandstorms and more, which change how the maps look and play.

To help everyone quickly get around these environments, players will be able to call in ground vehicle deliveries anywhere on the map through a tablet. Destruction, of course, makes a return, including ground deformation – something series fans will be particularly happy to see.

Despite its focus on narrative, Battlefield 2042 does not have a single-player campaign, but DICE promises that story will play a big role in the game's multiplayer battles.

For a recap of everything else we learned about Battlefield 2042, read on below for the rest of our coverage:

• Battlefield 2042 drops single-player campaign in favour of evolving multiplayer narrative.
• Battlefield 2042 is essentially three games in one.
• Battlefield 2042’s All-Out Warfare can be played with and against AI bots.
• Battlefield 2042 Specialists are Siege-like characters with unique abilities.
• Battlefield 2042 has no battle royale mode, but here’s Hazard Zone.
• Battlefield 2042 has Crysis-style on-the-fly weapon modding.
• Here’s how Conquest and Breakthrough work in Battlefield 2042.
• Free-to-play and cross-play in Battlefield 2042? DICE says stay tuned.
• Battle passes are coming to Battlefield 2042, and there’s already a roadmap for Year One.
• Battlefield 2024 alpha to kick off in July, beta coming ahead of launch.
• Battlefield 2042 is $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and there’s a $120 edition.