Battlefield 2042 launched late last year to a lukewarm reception from both critics and fans alike. While EA hasn’t publicly shared any numbers regarding the game’s early sale, a report from earlier this week claimed the company had attributed some of its negative reception to the launch of Halo Infinite. EA has now moved to deny the claims made in those reports.
Xfire reported the news earlier in the week, including quotes from an internal meeting at EA. Speaking to PCGamer, EA Communications VP John Reseburg said the initial story was not “accurately” representing the context of the discussion.
“These stories are not accurately capturing the discussion and the context, which was an in-depth and very humble internal conversation about the recent Battlefield launch,” Reseburg said in a statement to PC Gamer. “It was about key learnings and actions we are taking, not blaming external factors.”
According to Xfire’s initial report, EA’s meeting attributed the struggles of Battlefield 2042 to multiple factors. These ranged from COVID-19 issues forcing employees to work from home to performance problems and design mistakes. However, the report also claims EA has said early receptions for Battlefield 2042 were relatively positive, until the surprise release of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer.
According to the report, EA’s Chief Operating Officer Luara Miele claimed “the comparison between both games was not favourable because Halo Infinite was a very polished title whereas Battlefield 2042 contained bugs and wasn’t as polished.”
Despite its rough launch, EA is still committed to supporting Battlefield 2042. They expect to update the game more over the next few months, but the first season of live service content has been pushed back to ensure its release goes smoothly.
