The longstanding Battlefield franchise is known for its ability to innovate its core experience, with the IP historically thriving across a multitude of different settings and offered frameworks of gameplay. Although the series' most recent mainline release was characterized by many as quite disappointing and lackluster, its Portal mode is undoubtedly a well-received and interesting aspect of the title.
With this in mind, the Battlefield franchise would do well to carry its Portal mode over to its next mainline release, while of course implementing changes based off of the feedback given by the IP's community. Carrying Portal over to the next BF title would preserve one of the best aspects of Battlefield 2042 and, with one massive change in particular, could offer an untold level of community-led utility for the next series installment.
Battlefield 2042's Portal Mode
Prior to launch, the Portal mode of Battlefield 2042 was one of its most anticipated features, and it is clear to see why. Portal gives an unprecedented level of freedom to the franchise's community, allowing fans to host their own servers with customizable assets from an array of past Battlefield games.
In all, players can mix and match between elements of Bad Company 2, Battlefield 2042,Battlefield 3, and Battlefield 1942 within Portal servers. These assets include things like characters, weapons, vehicles, and maps, meaning players can mix and match between different eras of warfare across some of the franchise's most iconic installments.
Sadly, Battlefield 2042 has become known for its disappointing launch, with player counts for the game having dwindled drastically and being outperformed by some much older franchise releases. This of course has had an impact on the way Portal has been perceived and implemented, given how integral the aspect of community is to the success and feasibility of the mode. In this way, attention is being placed on how Portal could be implemented further down the line for the IP, and there are some clear improvements that could be made.
The Next Battlefield: Portal and Map Customization
Not much at all is currently known regarding the next release for the Battlefield franchise, with Battlefield 2042 still releasing post-launch updates in-line with its seasonal multiplayer roadmap. However, the next eventual installment for Battlefield would be remiss to not take from some positive 2042 elements, and the engaging community-centered nature of Portal makes it a perfect candidate for future use.
Crucially, if Portal is to be carried on within the next Battlefield, the mode should allow players to directly create and customize maps, significantly improving the level of creativity that is currently afforded to players. Given the immersion-breaking nature of Portal by its very existence, there is no real argument to be made against allowing fans the ability to create and mix between older maps for use on Portal servers.
Of course, this would add a great level of fan-led creativity and attention, with each Portal server having the potential to showcase brand-new maps that will lead to a near-endless amount of replayability for the mode. The freedom to create new maps would also foster a fantastic environment for fan-made game modes to truly prosper, giving Portal an element of further customization that it is currently lacking.
While being able to replay maps from older Battlefield titles is already a fantastic part of Portal's offered gameplay, it should absolutely be taken further within the next franchise release. With players being able to use assets from older games to create new and experimental maps, the future of Portal would undoubtedly be improved.
Battlefield 2042 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.