EA is reportedly "very disappointed" with Battlefield 2042 and is considering other options for it, including going free-to-play.
Although Battlefield games have always been known for coming in hot at launch, Battlefield 2042 inarguably had the roughest launch of them all. Battlefield 2042 was slated at launch for bugs, missing content, disappointing implementation of new features like the tornado, and annoyance at a lack of "legacy features".
This slating has continued since 2042's launch, leading the player count to drop and for even cheaters and modders to start playing other games. With so much negative reception, it's probably no surprise to hear that EA is reportedly "very disappointed" with Battlefield 2042 and is looking into what to do with the game.
Gaming insider Tom Henderson, who has previously leaked details on Battlefield 2042 and GTA 6, Tweeted, "EA is reportedly very disappointed with how Battlefield 2042 has performed and is "looking at all the options" when it comes to the title, this is including looking at Free to Play in some capacity."
Beyond the mention of free-to-play, it's not clear what "looking at all the options" means when it comes to Battlefield 2042. Whether that means permanently discounting the game, making some kind of statement regarding reception to the game, or planning some kind of game-changing update isn't clear, but free-to-play seems like one of the more likely options.
Considering the wealth of issues with Battlefield 2042, it doesn't seem likely that just making it go free-to-play will fix the community's reception to it. Not only will it still be stuck with the constantly rising number of issues, but it also means that EA will have to address the players who originally bought the game at full price.
For reference, when Star Wars Battlefront 2, one of EA's biggest troubled launches, was received poorly, EA didn't discount the game or make it free-to-play, and instead just worked on the issues and removed some of the more controversial elements such as the lootboxes.