Battlefield 2042is currently going through a very tumultuous period. Not only areBattlefieldfans frustrated with the game’s design and technical issues, but changes are being made to XP progression in the Portal mode in response to feedback. There are going to be growing pains, as a result, and the first casualty isBattlefield’s recently-released Zombie Survival Mode. Ripple Effect Studios confirmed that Zombie Survival has been disabled inBattlefield 2042’s Portal, replaced with Gun Game.
The issue with Zombie Survival unfortunately has to do withXP and the changes madejust prior to Zombie Survival’s release.Battlefield 2042players were using Zombie Survival to quickly earn XP, using an exploit where zombies were unable to reach them. Given that the exploit had to do with the design of the mode, necessary changes couldn’t be made quickly enough to justify keeping Zombie Survival up. As such, it made more sense to take it down and replace it.
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Ripple Effect’s senior design director Justin Wiebe confirmed the mode’s removal, promising that in doing so it had helped the development team’s approach to futurePortal mode releases. Wiebe explains that as a result of Zombie Survival, the team tightened its review process in order to ensure that similar events don’t happen again. Wiebe also acknowledged that the Zombie Survival mode needed additional time in the “workshop” and that it wasn’t fully cooked and ready for release even without the XP issue.
That said, Wiebe does say thatRipple Effectis hoping to bring back a more polished Zombie Survival game mode in the future. The priority, for the time being, is figuring out how to bring Zombie Survival’s XP progression back in line with non-Portal modes. Later, the team can revisit the gameplay and improve the experience to be even better than before. Wiebe admits that the team wanting a “fun zombie mode” overwrote its judgment on whether the mode was ready for release.
There did seem to be a solid following ofBattlefield 2042players who were enjoying Zombie Survival before its removal. However, the positive reception was significantly hurt by the number of accountsfarming XP. Bringing back the zombie mode is very likely to be positively received down the line.
For the time being, players will be able to play Gun Game inBattlefield 2042’s Portal instead of Zombie Survival. Gun Game has previously been available in Portal as Gun Master of Ages, customized byJackFrags. Gun Game has weapons changing over time, escalating in power with kills. While it’s not a new mode, it should keepBattlefield 2042fans busy until the next Portal mode is ready to go.
Battlefield 2042is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
