It took three years for EA and DICE to push out Battlefield 2042 following 2018's Battlefield V. Unfortunately, it appears that the extended development time might not have been worth it. After making so much ado about Battlefield 2042, the game's reputation has suffered tremendously over the last few months. It's reportedly gotten to a point that EA is thinking about making Battlefield 2042 free-to-play.
Battlefield and Call of Duty used to be at the top of the shooter genre. Now, these two are playing catch-up to the likes of Apex Legends and Fortnite, among others. To make matters worse, Halo Infinite has emerged as 343 Industries' best outing yet. To make matters worse still, compared to Call of Duty and Halo, Battlefield 2042 is the only one that doesn't have a free-to-play alternative.
Perhaps it is because of this reason that EA and DICE are reportedly considering turning Battlefield 2042 into a free-to-play live-service title.
Technically, EA has always supported Battlefield games like a live-service title. The only difference is that new installments often meant that end of support for the previous Battlefield game. This meant that EA would only support a Battlefield game for a year or two before moving on to the next one. However, with Battlefield 2042, EA and DICE might be making a massive change.