Battlefield 2042's Santa Claus Skins Axed, For Now

Battlefield 2042's leaked holiday Santa Claus Specialist skins will not be available, according to DICE's announcement on Battlefield 2042's official Twitter account. "Development for Live Service requires us to work months in advance, and enables us to have options when we reach key moments in our first year," DICE stated, explaining that the skins were developed as options--an option it's not taking.

"Today, we have other priorities, and so whilst we have the skins, we presently have no plans to utilize all of them this Holiday," the studio concluded.

DICE also mentioned that it will create "unique cosmetics for single time use in special Battlefield Portal modes," so players may encounter mode-locked cosmetics in the future.

However, while players can't get the controversial skins and go around spreading holiday cheer as a murderous Santa Claus, DICE did promise opportunities to obtain other skins. Starting the week of December 6, players can complete objectives to earn new skins and new items. Every week, there will be a new skin to unlock until Season 1.

Battlefield 2042's launch has been tumultuous and included a game-breaking bug that prevented some players from playing the game at all. DICE released a major third Battlefield 2042 patch on December 2 that fixed more than 150 bugs and aimed to rectify wonky collision physics, spawning issues, and more. According to DICE's Battlefield 2042 roadmap, there should be another smaller update available right before the holidays as well.

In related news, Electronic Arts also has major plans for the Battlefield franchise. There's been significant restructures at DICE and a plan for an expanded Battlefield universe.