'Battlefield 2042' Dataminer Leaks Possible Hazard Zone Features

Datamined files from the “Battlefield 2042” playtest have seemingly revealed key details regarding Hazard Zone, a new game mode that the developers have been teasing ever since the game was announced in E3 2021.

Hazard Zone was teased as a brand-new, high-stakes experience that has never before been done in any of the “Battlefield” games, and if the leaks prove to be true, then players will have much to look forward to. Dataminer temporyal said on Twitter that Hazard Zone will be similar to “Escape From Tarkov” and “Hunt: Showdown” in terms of overall gameplay style.

Temporyal claimed that Hazard Zone will have players hunting for data servers and hard drives containing precious information inside “Battlefield 2042’s” new large-scale maps, similar to how “Hunt: Showdown’s” bounty hunting mode worked. Players will drop into a map, look for the objective items and escape through designated extraction zones safely.

Battlefield 2042's short film Exodus features Irish, one of the main characters from Battlefield 4's main campaign story Photo: Electronic Arts

This ties in directly with the “Exodus” short film’s intro sequence where Irish, the story’s main character, was tasked with retrieving a briefcase containing sensitive data for Oz, one of the game’s central figures.

Players will be up against other players and possibly AI-controlled enemies, according to the leak, which would further drive the game mode’s similarities with both “Hunt” and “Tarkov.” Hazard Zone matches will reportedly take place inside the existing “Battlefield 2042” maps, albeit with additional points of interest like resupply stations where players can call-in vehicles or the new Ranger robot dog.

A “Tarkov”-like equipment risk system will presumably be in place, where players can lose their equipped loadout if they fail to extract from the map. Temporyal said there will be a Loadout Insurance upgrade alongside other options like Starting Armor, Extra Intel Storage, Bonus AI Reward and more. These upgrades imply the existence of a post-game rewards system that can be used for future Hazard Zone matches as well as AI-related side objectives.

A game mode in this style resonates with the “high stakes” aspect that the developers have been teasing in previous conferences. However, as this is all just datamined information, fans are advised to take all of the details with a grain of salt until the game mode is formally revealed in the coming weeks.