Battlefield 2042"s pre-release playtesting is finally opening its doors to the public next week, and everyone is getting access to Conquest in the Orbital map from October 8 - 9, though two days of early access is being given to pre-order holders and EA Play members. PC via Origin, EA app, Steam, and Epic as well as Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 players are all invited.
Fans might remember Orbital as the map in trailers that had a rocket launch going in the background. While playing Conquest during in the map, players will be getting access to the four Specialists — who"ll have a grappling hook, healing pistol, sentry gun, or recon drone — as well as a wealth of weapons and vehicles in true Battlefield fashion.
Like in the full game, only PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 will be able to handle the new 128-player matches. The player count in maps will be limited to 64 players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
To get PC players ready, DICE today shared the minimum and recommended system requirements needed for the open beta. Keep in mind that these can change for the full release:
MINIMUM
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Processor (Intel): Core i5 6600K
- Memory: 8GB
- Video Memory: 4GB
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
- Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon RX 560
- DirectX: 12
- Online Connection: 512 KBPS or faster
- Hard-drive space: 100GB
RECOMMENDED
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
- Processor (Intel): Intel Core i7 4790
- Memory: 16GB
- Video Memory: 8GB
- Graphics card (NVIDIA): Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
- Graphics card (AMD): AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
- DirectX: 12
- Online Connection: 512 KBPS or faster
- Hard-drive space: 100GB SSD
To get in during the early access period on October 6 and double the playtime available, players must either pre-order the game for their preferred platform or be a EA Play member. Since all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass for PC subscribers also gain EA Play membership status, they can join in early as well.
Considering the large amount of space being requested in the system specifications, it will be wise to preload the open beta to not waste any time before jumping in. Preloading will begin at 06:00 UTC on PC and 07:00 UTC on consoles on October 5.
Battlefield 2042 was recently hit with a surprise delay, pushing the original release date from October 22 to November 19, 2021. Compared to older titles, DICE has also been fairly strict about sharing new footage from the highly anticipated shooter, but the public beta should give fans a better look at how the game is shaping up.