The next Battlefield installment may not be called Battlefield 6 after all. Instead, the game set to debut on June 9 could be dubbed Battlefield 2042 and be a prequel to Battlefield 2142, a 2006 release set in an ice age. Up until now, rumors and leaks were in consensus that the game following Battlefield V would be called Battlefield 6, and that it is set in the near future.
Now, leaks posted to Reddit this weekend give new details about the game, claiming it's called Battlefield 2042 and that EA will launch an open beta later this month following a closed beta session on June 15 for streamers and creators. That isn't too farfetched considering the game (whatever it will be called) will likely launch in October or November.
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Almost every Battlefield 2042 (or Battlefield 6) detail to this point has gone through Tom Henderson, the preeminent leaker of the first-person shooter franchise. This latest one began in Henderson's Discord channel by an unknown source. In it, the anonymous leaker says the game could be called Battlefield 2042.
That should sound familiar to long-time Battlefield players. Battlefield 2142 was released in 2006 as a new concept for the franchise. It was set in a future ice age and contained sci-fi elements like titans and hovercraft. The game was relatively well-received but played second fiddle to the hugely popular Battlefield 2 that had launched a year prior.
Battlefield 2042 maps, modes and player count
If this leak is legit, Battlefield 2042 would be set 100 years prior and could act as a prequel to 2142. Interestingly, it will be released 21 years after the present, or twice as long into the 21st century as we are now. Other details revealed about the game and disseminated on Reddit are that Battlefield 2042 will allow you to carry and swap out two weapon attachments, and that squad specialists will return with the ability to use a special gadget.
This upcoming Battlefield will continue the franchise's emphasis on teamwork. The game mode Rush will return and a new mode will require you to capture points within sectors before you can own the entire sector. Maps will be larger than ever and one called Shelf is supposedly set in Antarctica. As we'd previously heard, Battlefield 2042 is expected to support a 64 vs. 64 player mode for a total of 128 soldiers on a map at once.
This isn't the only leaked info supporting the name Battlefield 2042. As Forbes reported, a leak depicting cover art for "Battlefield 2042" surfaced on the internet. It looks similar in style to past cover art, but we wouldn't put too much stake in it — artists and graphic designers are constantly churning out fan-created concept art that is meant to look real. The leaked banner has an orange slash going diagonally across what appears to be a mech soldier. It has a greenish teal background befitting the sci-fi setting.
What is Henderson, the Battlefield oracle, saying of all this? Addressing the name directly, he says the leaked image showing the name Battlefield 2042 came from a different file location than those he confirmed as being legitimate. He says a 2042 setting "is possible" but to "approach with caution."
