Battlefield 2042 short film hints at a game that I'm worried we won't get

Battlefield isn’t necessarily about its narrative. It never has been. When it comes to Battlefield, EA Dice has typically focused on offering a solid multiplayer experience, with chaotic sandbox maps and decent gunplay So, it’s not a huge surprise that, with Battlefield 2042, the developer has opted to focus solely on multiplayer experiences, offering three distinct multiplayer modes for players to jump into and taking the plunge into live service.

That means that Battlefield 2042 doesn’t have a single-player campaign mode, which won’t be a huge loss for many players. But, following a virtual preview of Battlefield 2042’s short film Exodus, I’ve found myself longing for a campaign mode I wasn’t previously bothered by.

Set before all-out war kicks off, Exodus sets up the world of Battlefield 2042 brilliantly, reintroducing a familiar face from Battlefield 4 and adding depth to a narrative that actually feels worthy of its own campaign mode - unfortunately, that’s not something that we’re going to get.

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Welcome to all-out war

We already know that Battlefield 2042 is set in a world that is on the brink of complete devastation. Food, energy and water shortages have led to the “greatest refugee crisis in human history”, following the failure of many of the world’s nations. Among these refugees are the “Non-Patriated” (also known as the No-Pats), made up of families, farmers, engineers and soldiers, who have been left without a nation to call their own.

"While I was expecting to be told that the live service element of Battlefield 2042’s All-Out War experience will mean that maps will shift to reflect narrative progression, instead I was told that characters will have a bit of a chat about events before they’re deployed into a match - and maybe during the game."

The last two superpowers that remain are the United States and Russia, who are battling it out for control of the globe’s last remaining resources. In order to survive, No-Pat Specialists (who players will be playing as) who have experience in combat join both sides so that, when the final bullet is fired, they have “a seat at the table”.

The Exodus short film acts as a narrative precursor to the all-out war we’ll be experiencing in the new Battlefield, providing more depth to the story and world of Battlefield 2042. The film reintroduces Battlefield 4’s Kimble “Irish” Graves, played by The Wire’s Michael K Williams, who is now the Captain of a Non-Pat refugee ship called the Exodus and will be a playable Specialist in the game. According to EA Dice, Irish’s return acts as somewhat of a bridge for players between the modern world and the world of Battlefield 2042.

But while Irish is fighting for a better world for the displaced No-Pats, ideally with as few casualties as possible, the enigmatic Oz (an allusive puppet master) has a similar goal, but his approach is considerably more extreme: burning the old world down and starting anew. EA Dice compared the rivalry to that of X-Men’s Professor Xavier and Magneto: same goal, vastly different approaches.

The short film sees Oz attacking the Exodus following a disagreement with Irish and ends with Irish telling his No-Pat comrades to prepare for war. It’s a riveting film and immediately had me intrigued as to how the rivalry between Battlefield’s version of Professor X and Magneto will play out in-game, especially without a specific campaign mode.

But, unfortunately, when I asked EA Dice about how we will see the narrative and characters like Oz and Irish integrated into gameplay, there wasn’t much in the way of a solid answer. While I was expecting to be told that the live service element of Battlefield 2042’s All-Out War experience will mean that maps will shift to reflect narrative progression, instead I was told that characters will have a bit of a chat about events before they’re deployed into a match - and maybe during the game.

Perhaps EA Dice is holding back a bit on its plans. We do know that new maps and Specialists will be added with each season, and perhaps they will play into the overarching narrative more, but - right now - for players like myself who actually enjoy the narrative elements of FPS games (I know, right?) it feels like there should be more to grab on to. It feels like a lot of story build-up that may not actually impact the game.

Changing how stories are told

As I’ve said before, not every Battlefield player will care about the narrative element. But it feels like if EA Dice has put in the legwork to create a world that, in its own words, is embedded in a believable setting with “sure-footed” immersion that they would want to offer more with regards to narrative.

"It feels like if EA Dice has put in the legwork to create a world that, in its own words, is embedded in a believable setting with “sure-footed” immersion that they would want to offer more with regards to narrative."

If there was still a campaign, much like with Call of Duty, players would have the option to either delve deep into the world in single-player or to simply jump into multiplayer - or even both. But without that option available, it’s almost like a big carrot is being dangled in front of me that I’ll never reach.

It feels like EA Dice is still somewhat getting to grips with what live service means for Battlefield specifically. During my virtual preview, the developer touched on how storytelling within games has changed within the last few years and that the priority of developers is now ongoing engagement and providing plenty of twists and turns for players. But what works for other live service titles may not work for Battlefield and vice versa.

In response to whether EA Dice valued collective events over a single-player campaign, Neel Upadhye, Creative Director of Narrative at EA, explained that collective events are simply another tool for storytelling and emphasized how events such as this have “caught fire” in recent years, allowing in-game stories to exist outside software. From what I’ve gathered, narrative sitting outside gameplay seems to be the plan EA Dice has for Battlefield 2042. To utilize other forms of medium, as it has done with the Exodus film and with its social media campaign following journalist Kayvan Bechir, to progress the story for those who want to know more rather than enacting big in-game changes to reflect a changing narrative.

What it doesn’t mean, though, is that we’ll get in-depth videos on each of Battlefield 2042’s Specialists. EA Dice emphasizes that the focus of Battlefield 2042 is its world and on players’ individual Battlefield moments. If a big solo movie moment makes sense to move the story of the world forward, then maybe that will happen.

A balancing act

EA Dice is attempting to balance the narrative line with Battlefield 2042: providing an overarching narrative for those who want it, though you may need to go outside the game to truly embrace it, and simply focusing on creating an immersive, enjoyable world for those whose focus is solely on great gunplay.

The fact that I personally want a campaign after watching Exodus is a testament to the narrative that has been created, but it also means that I’m also setting myself up for a fall. I’m expecting something from a Battlefield game that was never a focus for the series in the first place. But I’m probably not alone. It will be interesting to see how EA Dice builds upon the world of Battlefield 2042 with each of its seasons and how big a part the narrative will play within it.