Battlefield 2042 Joining Game Pass Ultimate, Going Free For A Limited Time

Electronic Arts and DICE have released the latest development update video for Battlefield 2042, revealing what’s next for the multiplayer shooter. This includes multiple free play opportunities to come in the future and the start of a new season for the game. Additionally, EA announced that Battlefield 2042 will join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (via EA Access) with the start of Season 3 very soon.

Season 3 will introduce a new Specialist character, a new map that is described as being one that DICE “always wanted to realize,” a new battle pass, more Portal content, and additional events. “We’re only a few weeks away from the start of Season 3. This season will see us head to an all new Battlefield, in a location we’ve always wanted to realize, but haven’t so far in our 20 years of creating Battlefield,” DICE said in a blog post.

With Season 3 tipped to begin in the coming weeks, fans shouldn’t have to wait much longer to find out more about what’s on the way. EA also teased that Season 4 is also in the works, and that DICE is already in pre-production on “new content” to come after that in 2023.

The full development update video also shows off the promised Specialist rework, which will basically bring the game back to a classic Battlefield experience with four familiar classes. The video also shows off the reworked Manifest and Breakaway maps and highlights new weapons on the way. Check out the full video above and read the Battlefield blog post here to learn more.

The other big piece of news for Battlefield 2042 is that EA is hosting a number of free play periods for the game starting in December. Presumably, all battle pass content can be unlocked during the free access periods, and all purchases and progress made during the free periods should carry forward should players decide to purchase the game outright.

Battlefield 2042 Free Play Periods:

• Xbox: December 1, 12:01 AM PT — December 4, 11:59 PM PT.
• Steam: December 1, 10 AM PT — December 5, 10 AM PT.
• PlayStation: December 16, 8 AM PT — December 23, 8 AM PT.

Following Battlefield 2042’s less-than-stellar launch in 2021, reports emerged that EA and DICE were considering making some or all of the game free for everyone. That is now happening, sort of, by way of these free play periods, but whether or not the game ever becomes fully free-to-play remains to be seen.