Battlefield Portal: How Battlefield 2042's Custom Mode Creator Works

When Battlefield 2042 launches, players will have access to brand-new game modes for the franchise. Along with All-Out Warfare, which promises the same, classic Battlefield experience that players expect but on a larger scale, are Hazard Zone, an Escape From Tarkov-esque game mode, and Battlefield Portal. The latter, however, is the more radically creative of the three.

Battlefield Portal is like the game's own custom games mode. Players can't make their own maps, but they can make their own game modes, with customization getting extremely granular. But apart from changing game rules to create a new mode, players can even take the weapons, maps, and vehicles of numerous other Battlefield games and mash them together for a unique, time-bending experience.

Getting started

Creating a game mode in Battlefield 2042 actually doesn't even require having the game. Creators can simply head over to the Battlefield Portal website, and they can start making their own custom games.

The Battlefield Portal creation process all starts with what game mode players want to modify, picking from Battlefield classics like Conquest or Rush, or more mainstream modes, including free for all and team deathmatch.

After choosing a game mode, creators can handpick the map rotation for their game mode. Battlefield Portal comes with 13 maps at launch: seven from Battlefield 2042 and six others from either Battlefield 2042, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, or Battlefield 3. Depending on what game mode players are diving into, these maps also have layout variants that shrink down their play area should their full size not work for a specific mode. A full list of the maps available in Battlefield Portal can be found below.

• Large Maps
  • Discarded
  • Hourglass
  • Breakaway
  • Kaleidoscope
  • Manifest
  • Orbital
  • Renewal
• Medium Maps
  • Discarded
  • Hourglass
  • Breakaway
  • Kaleidoscope
  • Manifest
  • Orbital
  • Renewal
  • Battle Of The Bulge
  • Arica Harbor
  • Valparaiso
  • El Alamein
  • Noshahr Canals
  • Caspian Border
• Small Maps
  • Discarded: Recycling Yard
  • Hourglass: Al Salam Park
  • Breakaway: Platform
  • Kaleidoscope: Data Center
  • Manifest: Caju Operations
  • Orbital: Crawlerway
  • Renewal: Fields
  • Battle Of The Bulge: St. Vith
  • Arica Harbor: Town
  • El Alamein: Axis Airfield
  • Noshahr Canals: Container Area
  • Caspian Border: Gas Station

Finally, players have to set some basic rules for their new game modes. These are still some game-changing rules, including how many players can be in a match and how long a game lasts, but if a creator wants to really customize their game mode they have to look into the modifier section.

This is where players can edit the granular details of their game mode. Friendly fire can be toggled, projectile speed and global damage multipliers can be set, and things like stationary weapon emplacements or aim assist can be toggled here. Likewise, players can make two sets of modifiers, one for each team, in case they want to let one side of a battle have aim assist and leave the other without the feature.

Boots on the ground

With a core set of rules made, Battlefield Portal creators can then move on to changing what the base player experience will be like. Simply put, that means editing how players can move and interact with the world. This section of Battlefield Portal includes settings for turning off prone (for that classic Bad Company 2 experience) or toggling the ability to aim-down-sights. Later options in this section let creators change just about everything else players will interact with, from vehicles to the UI.

This lets players get creative with vehicle usage, as they can set them to spawn in-game modes that didn't have any to begin with. A free-for-all game mode where every player has a tank, helicopter, or jet is fully possible with a few quick option edits. Likewise, all UI elements can be removed for a more immersive, hardcore experience.

With those rules selected, creators can finally set which Battlefield eras will be clashing in their game modes. One of Battlefield Portal's biggest immediate draws is the ability to have soldiers from across the franchise fight each other. If a creator wants to pit 1942's Nazis against 2042's future soldiers, they can. The same rules apply to weapons, weapon attachments, and vehicles. Everything that players have access to can be toggled in Battlefield Portal, so creators can have a vehicle-only mode or throw players into a massive battle with the game's biggest machine guns.

While all of the previously mentioned options and settings let players create their own simple game modes, Battlefield Portal's rules editor lets dedicated players make some unique content. The rules editor is a rudimentary coding system, one that offers explanations for every function available in it. Likewise, it lets players create their own rules for a game mode rather than manipulate existing ones. If a creator, for instance, wants to force players to jump a certain number of times in order to reload their weapon, they can make it so.

Once a game mode is made, players can publish and title it for others to find. An "experience code" will also be generated that can be shared with others so they can start up servers running that game mode.

Battlefield Portal is just one of three game modes coming in Battlefield 2042. The other two modes, All-Out Warfare and Hazard Zone, are detailed in GameSpot's review-in-progress of the game.