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Battlefield 2042 Season 1 starts this week

With a new map, a new specialist, and a battle pass, Battlefield 2042 Season 1 kicks off this week with a mission to kickstart the multiplayer shooter

Battlefield 2042 Season One: New specialist Ewelina Lis runs into battle carrying a modern rifle as mud and shrapnel explode around her.

Battlefield 2042 has had what can charitably be called a tough launch, but eight months later it’s ready to turn the corner. Battlefield 2042 Season 1 starts June 9, and with it comes the multiplayer game’s first battle pass, which adds a new specialist, new weapons and vehicles, and an awe-inspiring new map set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Battlefield 2042 Season One is called Zero Hour, and its 100-tier battle pass provides the backbone for the new content it introduces to the game. Like other battle passes, there are free and premium tracks, and EA/DICE says that everything that impacts gameplay can be earned on the free track. The premium track includes cosmetics and in-game currency that can be used in the Battlefield shop. The takeaway is that you won’t need to spend another dime in order to unlock the new gameplay content coming to Battlefield 2042 this season.

The trailer is a good showcase of the scenic new map, Exposure. Set high in the mountains, the map features wide open fields that fall away in sheer cliffs and rock slides into a ravine below that’s opened up due to a major earthquake. It’s extremely vertical, with plenty of space for air combat and wingsuiting. For players who prefer close quarters combat, there’s a secret military facility carved into the mountain that features tunnels, server rooms, and bunker emplacements ripe for intense brawls. Exposure supports 64 players in Breakthrough and 128 players in Conquest mode.

Season One also introduces new specialist Ewelina Lis, a vehicle-killing expert armed with a powerful rocket launcher that fires steerable missiles – perfect for taking on the new radar-deflecting RAH-68 Huron and YG-99 Hannibal stealth helicopters coming this season. Her trait, Armour Hunter, allows her to see damage on nearby vehicles.

Here’s the trailer:

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There are also new weapons to unlock this season. The Ghostmaker R10 crossbow is a stealthy weapon that can accept four different types of bolts, while the new BSV-M designated marksman rifle features an integrated suppressor and is deadly at mid-range. A new gadget, the smoke grenade launcher, can lay down a wall of smoke broad enough to cover your whole squad as they assault a fortified control point.

The premium battle pass costs 1000 BFC, or $10 USD.

EA/DICE says over the course of Season One, players can expect to see additional improvements to Battlefield 2042. Improved animation modelling will be rolling out over June and July, providing more readable body movements. The team has more plans for weapon balancing, and specialists will be getting new visuals and voice lines “to make them feel more aesthetically faithful to 2042’s gritty, war-torn world.”

The developer also says that it’s working on CPU optimisation and input latency, and that future patches should include improved performance on PC.