In case you haven't heard, we aren't getting a single-player campaign in Battlefield 2042. But that doesn't mean there isn't a narrative to explain the world. So for those of you who want to know why you're killing each other or why you're doing so in all these exotic locations - here's a rundown of Battlefield 2042's story so far.
While the focus of Battlefield games has always been on multiplayer, the story in these games has usually been worth telling. But for the first time ever, we won't get any form of a single-player campaign in Battlefield 2042. That's a shame because there's actually quite a rich narrative explanation for why we'll be fighting each other in multiplayer. So settle down, and allow us to share with you what could've been a great campaign.
What Is The Story Of Battlefield 2042?
2014-2020
We need to start by turning our watches back to 2014 and the release of Battlefield 3:
- In Battlefield 3 Russia and the US go to war in what's supposed to be 2014. The whole time, China is on the brink of joining the war on the Russian side. China's President Jin Jie actually wants peace, but it looks like a military coup d'état might happen, and if successful, the head of the army will take power and have the country join the war.
- This plot continues into Battlefield 4, set six years into the war between Russia and the US. The American special forces team you play as uncover a plot to replace China's president. They fail to stop the plot and China, under a new leader, joins the war against the US.
- The team is able to rescue two VIPs from China just before the war's outbreak though.
- Back on a US-controlled ship, the team is then assigned to attack an airfield while the Chinese aircraft is grounded. They are successfulm but in the aftermath, they end up captured by the Chinese.
- They escape the Chinese jail and make it back through the jungle to US forces.
- Back with their army, the fourth game concludes with them successfully holding off Chinese and Russian forces closing in on the USS Valkyrie. The Chinese President reveals himself to be one of the VIPs the US rescued in disguise, and he shows his face to make Chinese soldiers stand down from fighting.
- The ship he's on is bombed by the head of the Chinese army, who wants to retain power. You can choose as the player to stop the aggressor ship in a kamikaze-style one-way mission, or you can just let the Chinese president die.
That was the story so far, but we also know a little about what's happened between then and 2042.
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2021-2042
The same characters from Battlefield 3 and 4 return, but in the intervening years the world has drastically changed:
- The Russian and US war of 2020 is over, but the world has faced several climate disasters, leaving only a few areas in the world that are still habitable for humans.
- Almost all nations have broken down, and coalitions of nations like the EU have long since collapsed. With 1.2 million people displaced, a new group is formed of 'climate refugees' called No-Pats. You will play as a no-pat in Battlefield 2042.
- A Kessler syndrome event occurs near Earth - effectively meteorites destroy one satellite which creates more debris to then hit the next satellite and so on. This grounds 70% of earth's satellites and leaves the planet largely without communication in the year 2042.
- Russian and the US go to war again in the resulting confusion.
Battlefield 2042 will begin at this point, with Russia and the US at war again. You play as third-party group called the No-Pats who are looking for habitable land and peace.
In a short film called Exodus, the first narrative events of Battlefield 2042 were shown, and we got an insight into what the No-Pats will be doing over the course of this game:
Will The Plot Continue When Battlefield 2042 Launches?
Yes, they will continue the plot of Battlefield 2042 throughout each season, much in the same way that Warzone's story is told through seasonal developments and trailers, and through new character lore. While there are no plans for a single-player experience, this means we can still follow the plot of the world, although story-telling done this way is largely ignored by the player base.
It's a shame to have seen them make this change, but then, a lot of players are only buying the game for multiplayer anyhow. So perhaps it's just a more efficient use of their resources to ditch the campaign. Still, we can't help being slightly mournful.
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