Battlefield 2042 has arguably been one of the most poorly received major titles in recent years. Given the reception, the developers are looking to introduce more changes to Battlefield 2042 hoping to bring back more players. A recent leak suggests that some of these changes may include three new maps that could be introduced to the game in the future.
Following much excitement from Battlefield fans, the launch of Battlefield 2042 last November was unfortunately met with a lot of disappointment. The reception has been bad enough that older Battlefield titles have already crossed active player counts, only months after Battllefield 2042's release. It hasn't helped when the developer also announced that Battlefield 2042's first season will be delayed. However, DICE hasn't abandoned the game despite the poor numbers, as it looks to update the game with improvements and new content. Most recently, a data miner's leak points to three unreleased maps on Battlefield 2042 dubbed, "Drained," "LightsOut," and "DockLands."
The leak speculates that the DockLands map may be an existing Battlefield map for Portal, along the lines of Port Valdez or Panama Canal from Bad Company 2. Another speculation is that Drained could refer to a drained river/lake as a similar image is featured in the official artbook, and that LightsOut could indicate a new take on Operation Locker through a barracks or a prison-type map. However, no further information regarding map sizes or possible launch dates is known as of now.
Though DICE is yet to comment on the leak, the rumor suggests that these maps may be an attempt to fix some of Battlefield 2042's problematic areas. Last month, DICE published a blog post announcing some changes which included smaller Battlefield 2042 maps in the future. This was due to many users complaining about the game's overly large maps that left a lot of empty spaces. More recently, DICE followed it up by responding to map feedback along with detailed plans for design changes.
At this point, it's unclear if the rumored maps will make a significant difference in the player numbers for the game. The poor reception for Battlefield 2042 has already made EA change its direction for the franchise. One rumor even claims that the next Battlefield could have a modern or near-future setting. While it certainly doesn't look like DICE is letting go of its title just yet, a new entry into the franchise may be a better choice than trying to regain hype and excitement for Battlefield 2042. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the player base will respond should the rumored maps be officially released in an upcoming update.
Battlefield 2042 is available right now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.