Is there voice chat in Battlefield 2042?

Battlefield 2042 is now out for those players who have early access, and later this week, on 19th November, it will release globally for everyone who bought the game.

Battlefield 2042's early access launch hasn't exactly been the smoothest experience. The game is still suffering from several design issues, and numerous technical issues have been plaguing Battlefield 2042 as well, as players were barely able to play the game due to server issues and the infamous "Unable to Load Persistence Data" error message. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, because other problems, like low FPS or attachments falling to unlock, were also persistent throughout the weekend.

Asides from bugs and glitches, players were baffled to find out that DICE is still keeping many questionable design decisions, and were especially surprised to see that voice chat is seemingly omitted from Battlefield 2042.

The game whose core design is about coordinated squad team play surely has to have a voice chat feature, right? Well, we have the answer, and it's not good.

Will Battlefield 2042 have voice chat?

If you are among early access Battlefield 2042 players, you were probably confused to learn that the game has no voice chat. Unfortunately, that is the case, as it is confirmed by developers DICE, which stated that the voice chat feature will not be available at launch, but also mentioned that they are working on adding voice chat as soon as possible.

This is a rather strange decision, as one would think that such a feature should be a top priority for a squad-based game, where coordinated manoeuvres and timely information could make all the difference.

It is particularly hurtful for the newest mode added to the game, called Hazard Zone, which heavily relies on proper communication and coordination between teammates. This might not be an issue when playing with friends, who can communicate via Discord or other third-party apps, but for those who solo queue can soon become a nightmare scenario.

Sure, there are alternatives, like text chat and ping system, but those really only serve as supplement systems that can further help in coordination, not as primary means of communication.

So, when will voice chat be added to Battlefield 2042? We don't know but we hope it will be as soon as possible. One of the possible reasons for its delay is that DICE and EA are not sure yet how to implement mechanisms that will combat the omnipresent toxicity for which many of the biggest online multiplayer games are known.

The toxic environment it creates is one of the main reasons many players are refusing to use voice chat at all or simply stop playing a game, and other companies, like Riot Games, started to record all voice communication in order to stamp out toxic behaviour.

While controversial, it has also proven to be very effective, so DICE might implement something similar? We will have to wait for voice chat to finally be released and find out.

• Read more: Shroud thinks Battlefield 2042 bloom makes the game easier for bad players

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Featured image courtesy of EA.