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Battlefield 2042 update confirms crossplay, specialist details and more

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With Battlefield 2042 finally announced, fans have had questions for developer Ripple Effect. In response, the studio has released a Battlefield briefing, fittingly titled “Answering Your Reveal Questions.” The brief goes over nearly every aspect of the upcoming Battlefield title and revealed that it will have cross-play, a feature that will be tested during the game’s upcoming technical playtest.

Saying that the feature’s addition was “one of your most frequently asked questions,” Ripple Effect confirmed that it would be present, but needs some work. “To accommodate that,” reads the post, “we’ve made the decision to move the technical playtest to later this summer so we’ll have the opportunity to test the cross-play functionality.”

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Battlefield 2042‘s technical playtest also won’t be open to everyone. Ripple Effect will contact players that register for an EA Playtesting profile, although having one doesn’t guarantee a spot. During the test, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 players will be able to play in the same matches. That being said, there will be some limits to cross-play in Battlefield 2042. PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S players will be able to play against each other, leaving out last-gen consoles. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players will be able to play together instead.

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Today’s briefing also went over specialists, another new feature coming in Battlefield 2042. The game will have 10 when it eventually launches, each with its own trait, specialty, and fully customizable loadout. Specialties and traits can be thought of as active and passive tools, respectively. For instance, using a wingsuit is specific to one specialist. On the other hand, traits are a bit more subtle. The post gives the example of one specialist, Falck, who has the combat surgeon trait, which lets her revive players to full health.

Players also won’t have any limits when it comes to choosing which guns to take into battle. Specialists have completely customizable loadouts, so you can equip any primary weapon, equipment, secondary weapon, and throwable you want. Not every player will be able to be a specialist though. The post didn’t say how many would be present on each team, but there can be more than one specialist in a single squad.

Battlefield 2042 launches on October 22 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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Otto Kratky
Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
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