We drop in to the near future setting of Orbital to go hands-on with the latest Battlefield ahead of the Open Beta this weekend! Psst, we've also got some sweet footage we captured running on an GeForce RTX 3090.

A snippet.

Building on the look, feel, and the style of chaotic multiplayer action seen across Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4, the near future setting of Battlefield 2042 paves the way for some of the largest battles in the franchise’s history. Of course large-scale and Battlefield go hand-in-hand, but with this new entry designed with the latest PC and console hardware in mind, the fan-favourite Conquest mode sees map sizes expand considerably. Alongside the player-count -- with 128-player battles becoming the norm across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X.

With the Open Beta kicking off this weekend, we dove into the All-Out Warfare action as part of a recent preview event. Covering 128-player Conquest on the new Orbital Map (it’s the one with the rocket launch pad and giant rocket) we spent a few hours in and out of squads in Battlefield’s long-awaited return to modern combat.

It’s worth pointing out that Conquest on the new Orbital map in Battlefield 2042 is still very much Battlefield. Capturing flags, keeping to certain sectors, and taking down the opposing side’s ticker count as part of a larger conflict between future Russians and future Americans.



There are of course some key differences, high-tech stuff that also doubles as quality of life updates. If there’s a tank free to commandeer all you need to do is bust out your portable laptop thingy and call in a tank drop at your current location. The same goes for an armoured vehicle, a buggy, or smaller transport. Watching it parachute in is very cool.

Our Full Battlefield 2042 Hands-On