While it may be over-saturated at the moment, there’s no denying the popularity of the battle royale genre, which is why it wasn’t surprising to see EA and DICE add such a mode toBattlefield 5. Though it was received quite favorably, it was noticeably missing a Duos mode - a mode where teams consisting of two players battle against each other. Said mode was added later but DICE warned players that it wouldonly be available inBattlefield 5for a limited time, and now that time has come.
It seems rather strange to have included an additional mode, only to later remove it completely, especially since it received a very positive reception upon release. But, in a post on the officialBattlefield 5Reddit thread, DICE’s community manager, Freeman, provided an explanation as to why this was done. Simply, it’s because not enough people were playing it.
“When Duo was first removed, you told us that you wanted to see it come back and we were happy to support.
“Since then, we’ve seen more folks jump back into Squads mode, with less preferring to Firestorm it up in Duo - so we’re going to get back to the original plan today and we’ve disabled it’s matchmaking.”
While this is certainly disappointing for the people that did play Duos mode, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will never come back, with Freeman writing “… we never say never. We’re confident that we’ll see it again!”
They also revealed plans for future updates for the title; specifically, allowing players to access otherwise temporary game modes, like Grind and Rush, after their initial availability, which would certainly be a treat for those that play the game primarily for these additional modes.
Otherwise, this isn’t necessarily a good look for the game in some peoples' eyes. Not helping is the news thatmicrotransactions will be added toBattlefield 5in the very near future, which will allow players to purchase cosmetics and “time savers.” Considering EA’s previous and infamous experience with microtransactions, it’d be understandable for some sections of the player-base to be put off by their inclusion.
With any luck, EA will be able to win these people over when they announce moreBattlefield 5details at this year’s E3. With plans to reveal new info on the likes of their upcomingStar Warsgame as well, it could be the perfect chance to help their current image problem.
Battlefield 5is available right now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
