Last year, EA put all the Battlefields that skipped Steam onto the platform: Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield 1, and Battlefield 5. This October, the just-announced Battlefield 2042 will join them. (Find the trailer and tons of details on the game here.)
The news shouldn't have surprised me: Both EA and Microsoft recently recommitted to releasing games on Steam, so of course the new Battlefield will be there. It's just been so long since I launched a Battlefield game from Steam that it gave me a moment's pause: Oh right, there was a time before Origin.
It might be fair to say Battlefield 2042 will kind of be on Steam. You'll be able to buy it and launch it on Steam, but when you launch an EA game from another client, a mini-Origin client still pops up and hangs out in the taskbar. It's an annoying concession that's become common: Ubisoft games launch Ubisoft Connect, formerly known as Uplay, and Rockstar games make you log-in with a Rockstar account. It does mean that players who buy these games from different stores can play together, because they're signed into EA or Ubisoft or Rockstar's multiplayer networks, not just Steam's.
On that note, Battlefield 2042 will also release on the Epic Games Store. EA's Star Wars Squadrons and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order both released there, so there's precedent. And why not? If Battlefield 2042 will be on Steam and both versions make you launch Origin for matchmaking and friends, then it's just another place to buy and download it.
Of course, you'll also be able to buy Battlefield 2042 directly from Origin. In this case, I'd get it: If you have a bunch of other Battlefield games on Origin, you might want to keep them together.
For your perusal, here are Battlefield 2042's Steam, Epic Games Store, and Origin pages.
Battlefield 2042 will release on October 22. It makes some major changes to Battlefield, doubling the number of players per match and ditching singleplayer to focus entirely on multiplayer modes. You can read everything we know about Battlefield 2042 here.
