Battlefield 2042 season 1 kicks off this week with stealth choppers, new ‘vehicle killer expert’ specialist

Battlefield 2042’s first, long-delayed season of content officially kicks off Thursday, June 9, with a debut battle pass, a new specialist, a new map, the arrival of stealth helicopters, and much more, developer DICE and publisher Electronic Arts announced Tuesday. A new gameplay trailer for the futuristic military shooter and the season 1 “Zero Hour” battle pass shows what’s in store for stalwart Battlefield 2042 fans in the coming months.

The game’s new Specialist, Ewelina Lis, joins the Battlefield 2042 character roster armed with a rocket launcher — she’s a “vehicle killer expert,” after all, and can launch player-guided projectiles to take down tanks and helicopters, including the RAH-68 Huron and YG-99 Hannibal gunships. Lis comes equipped with the Armor Hunter trait that gives her “invaluable intel on damaged vehicles,” DICE says.

In combat, players will also get access to new weapons, including the Ghostmaker R10 crossbow, described as “quiet but deadly” and packing a punch with its explosive rounds, and the BSV-M Marksman Rifle, which is said to be good at range and in close quarters. A nonlethal smoke grenade launcher is also coming in Battlefield 2042’s first season, a gadget that fires a projectile that creates a smoke wall that provides visual cover.

Image: DICE/Electronic Arts

Players will have a new battlefield on which to fight, thanks to the addition of the map Exposure. That new map is set in the Canadian Rockies, and offers extreme vertical terrain for dramatic aerial dogfights and surface-to-air combat opportunities. Exposure supports up to 64 players in Breakthrough mode, and up to 128 players in Conquest on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

Season 1 “Zero Hour” will also introduce a 12-week battle pass to Battlefield 2042, with both free and premium content tiers. The free tier will offer access to new weapons, vehicles, and cosmetics. The premium tier (which costs 100 Battlefield Coins, or $10) unlocks cosmetic items including skins, player cards, weapon charms, and takedown animations. DICE and EA say that the premium tier of Battlefield 2042’s season pass will not affect gameplay.

Battlefield 2042’s first season arrives alongside gameplay shakeups for DICE’s game. The game’s developers recently removed the 128-player version of Breakthrough, leaving the large-scale multiplayer battles for which the series is known to Conquest mode. Additionally, DICE is rolling out major map reworks, adding cover and reducing player count sizes, and “winding down” of one of the game’s major modes, Hazard Zone.