‘Battlefield 2042’ to stop work on Hazard Zone

EA Dice has confirmed that Battlefield 2042 developers will stop working on Hazard Zone.

A new mode for the series, Hazard Zone saw players team up in groups of four to “locate and retrieve critical data drives scattered throughout the battlefield, while fighting opposing squads with the same objective”.

However just six months after launch, EA Dice has confirmed that it is “winding down future development on Hazard Zone.”

“Hazard Zone will stay as part of the experience, we’re not switching it off, but beyond addressing critical errors and odd behaviours that may appear in the future, we’re no longer actively developing new experiences or content for the mode, and you’ll find that maps that we release across our seasons will not be supported in Hazard Zone,” the studio explained.

“All of us on the team had great ambition and high hopes for this new Battlefield experience throughout our development, but we’re the first to hold our hands up and acknowledge that it hasn’t found the right home in Battlefield 2042 and that we’ll benefit greatly from letting our focus and energy stay on the modes we see you engaging most with.”

Last week, EA removed Battlefield 2042‘s 128-player Breakthrough multiplayer mode on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, choosing to stick to a 64-player count version instead.

“In Breakthrough’s 128 player mode, we feel that the value and impact of an individual player, and squad is reduced due to the increased intensity and chaos of the combat,” said a statement.

“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 fulfil their individual roles.”

It comes as Battlefield 2042 gears up to release season one, which is due for release in June with “more details to follow”.

In other gaming news, Infinity Ward has confirmed a release date for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.