Battlefield 2042 Drops Zombies Mode After It Became An XP Farm

Just a day after it went live, EA removed Battlefield 2042's newest community-made mode, Zombie Survival, after fans discovered it had become a XP farm. Senior design director Justin Wiebe from Ripple Effect Studios said the mode needs to "go back into the workshop for a bit."

Wiebe was hopeful Zombie Survival could be fixed so it is more aligned with "standard game progression." Additionally, the developer mentioned that the teams working on Battlefield 2042 have "tightened" their review process to ensure something like this doesn't happen again. "Thanks for your patience and understanding," Wiebe said.

We’ve removed the Zombie’s mode and replaced with Gun Game. Hopefully we can fix it in the future and keep it in alignment with standard game progression. We’ve also tightened our review process to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
— Justin Wiebe (@JA_Wiebe) January 21, 2022

Yeah I hear you on that. I think there was potential for the mode but needs to go back into the workshop for a bit. Regardless, we need to be focusing on more important issues like improving core XP progression for BF Portal. https://t.co/EX9cetm6YB
— Justin Wiebe (@JA_Wiebe) January 21, 2022

Zombie Survival was a fan-made gametype released in Battlefield 2042's Portal mode. Teams of four human soldiers worked together to fight off endless waves of oncoming zombies until rescue arrived. Things didn't go to plan, however, and players discovered they could use Zombie Survival to farm XP that applies to other elements of Battlefield 2042. This was throwing off general XP balance for the game overall, and that's at least part of the reason why EA removed it.

Wiebe admitted that Zombie Survival never should have been added to Battlefield 2042 in the first place. "I think our desire to create a fun zombies mode clouded our ability to see such a simple thing like the impact it would have on progression. I'm very sorry for the hardship this has caused," Wiebe wrote.

I’m not going to lie, this one shouldn’t have gotten through our review process. I think our desire to create a fun zombies mode clouded our ability to see such a simple thing like the impact it would have on progression. I’m very sorry for the hardship this has caused. https://t.co/01MXOdWGN5
— Justin Wiebe (@JA_Wiebe) January 21, 2022

Battlefield 2042 was 2021's fifth best-selling game in the US, though EA has not announced a specific sales number for the futuristic military shooter.