As is the way of things when it comes to revealing a major game's features these days, EA has been drip-feeding info about Battlefield 2042 over the last several months. To wit, it has only just pulled back the curtain on Hazard Zone, one of the game's three main modes, a month before the November 19th release date.
Hazard Zone is about getting into the arena, retrieving data drives and escaping via an extraction point before a storm overwhelms you or enemies take you out. Only two teams can make it out, as only a couple of extraction windows will pop up at random locations (though only one player needs to get out for their team to win). Matches run for up to 20 minutes and will take place across all seven of Battlefield 2042's maps.
Survival is key here. You only have one life, but one of your three teammates can resurrect you if you're killed. Once your entire team is wiped out, it's game over. Still, if you're sneaky enough, you can win a match without firing a shot. Some satellites will already be on the ground at the start of a game, and more will drop in as the round progresses, so you'll need to adjust your strategy as you go.
Before the start of a round, you and your teammates can kit yourselves out with gadgets. Players can use money earned in previous matches (primarily by making it out with data drives) to buy gear like a scanner that shows data drive locations, a healing upgrade and a Squad Redeploy Call-in. The latter lets you revive dead squad mates; otherwise, you'll need to find a Redeploy Uplink somewhere on the map to bring back your buddies.
All of the XP you earn will go toward your overall Battlefield 2042 progression, which will boost your player level and unlock weapons. Teams are made up of unique characters — players will need to find specialists and loadouts that work in harmony to increase their chances of success.
Hazard Zone isn't quite a battle royale mode, since you don't need to be the last squad standing to win. Instead, it's objective-based and actually sounds a little like the main mode of Ubisoft's recently announced (and delayed) Ghost Recon Frontline. As with the other Battlefield 2042 modes, Hazard Zone supports 64 players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. On PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, up to 128 players will square off on larger maps.