It’s been a rough couple of months for Battlefield 2042 and its community. Following the game’s disappointing launch, the series’ most disgruntled fans torn it to shreds.
This has, as it tends to do, unfortunately also extended to DICE developers. Since Battlefield 2042’s launch in November, some of those who worked on the game have been bombarded with insults and the usual package of abuse on social media. Their Tweets would turn into memes on the game’s biggest subreddit.
Just this week as everyone begins returning from the holiday break, the Battlefield 2042 subreddit kicked off the year with a new obsession. Shooter communication director at EA, Andy McNamara, tweeted about his frustration that fans on Reddit and Twitter expected something from DICE immediately after the holiday break, which was never realistic.
“Guys, people gotta rest. We have things in motion but we have to figure out what is possible. Let us get back from break and get back to work. Love you guys but these expectations are brutal. The things you want take time to scope, design, and execute,” McNamara wrote in a since-deleted Tweet.
Many on the Battlefield 2042 subreddit took that Tweet and ran with it, spawning countless memes and threads mocking the so-called “brutal expectations.” It’s gotten so out of hand that you couldn’t escape them, forcing subreddit mods to announce that they’re willing to go as far as lock the entire subreddit if toxicity cannot be contained.
“It’s an understatement when we say that this subreddit has grown incredibly toxic,” reads the message.
“It’s near impossible to have a simple discussion without insults being flung around at each other – and it’s really starting to harm the entire Battlefield community, and each of us that are part of it.
“We mods have always been very laid back as far as moderation goes – we try our best to let everyone’s voice be heard, no matter how upset or angry, but we’ve always been of the position that insults or harassment directed to any individual will never be tolerated. We’ll do whatever it takes to drive that sort of toxicity down. If it means shutting down for a period of time, we will.”
Pausing the subreddit is a last resort. Before that, mods will attempt to lock suspicious threads early to prevent things from getting to the nuclear option. That said, the state of the Battlefield 2042 subreddit is not surprising. It has a big community of hardcore series fans who have made their opinions about the game, its design direction, and various issues incredibly clear. Anything that comes out of EA and DICE that doesn’t exactly line up with their expectations was bound to be memed.
McNamara has since apologised for his earlier Tweets, but it’s clear the relationship is not at a good place. “Seems my message wasn’t clear,” he said.
