Battlefield 4 gets new, free DLC two years after launch

By Danny Cowan November 18, 2015

EA DICE will release a new batch of multiplayer DLC for its competitive first-person shooter

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Battlefield 4 by the end of 2015, continuing support for the game more than two years after its initial launch.

The Battlefield 2 map Dragon Valley will return in Battlefield 4 after leading a community vote gauging interest in recreations of “classic Battlefield maps within the Battlefield 4 universe.”

The re-designed Dragon Valley 2015 will be featured in the free Legacy Operations DLC pack for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of Battlefield 4. EA DICE notes that the map’s scale prevents a release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

“We really wanted to push the envelope with Dragon Valley 2015, and that meant being able to make a bigger level, with a larger scale than anything currently in Battlefield 4,” the studio explains. “Because of that, we made the decision to focus on the more powerful platforms. This doesn’t mean we’re no longer supporting players on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with critical updates when needed, but we really wanted to try something big for Dragon Valley, and we think that when you play it, you’ll see the difference.”

Dragon Valley 2015 will feature destructible and rebuildable bridges that will change the flow of combat throughout every match. Players will have a variety of tactical options with regard to rapidly changing terrain and cover. The redesigned map has also been altered with steeper terrain and cloud layering, enabling aerial combat above cloud level.

The map will support multiple gameplay modes, including a Conquest setup that “has more flags than any other Battlefield 4 map in the game.” Dragon Valley 2015 additionally supports Rush mode for the first time since its Battlefield 2 launch.

Battlefield 4‘s free Legacy Operations DLC will launch alongside a planned Holiday Update later this year. A specific release date was not announced.

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The Sims 4: For Rent expansion pack pits landlords against tenants

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The Sims 4: City Living, one of the game's many expansion packs, first introduced livable apartments in 2016. For longtime Sims players, this was a welcome addition to the most recent iteration of the long-running series. But since then, players have asked for far more freedom in both apartment gameplay (i.e., playing a Sims family that lives in an apartment) and building.

The Sims 4: For Rent expansion looks to step up and provide players with some long-requested features that haven’t been available before. In a preview event, lead producer Rebecca Doyle and lead designer Jessica Croft took press members through the expansion pack’s features, and even provided the opportunity to play as a property owner.

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Time is running out to play Battlefield 2042 for free

Crawford shoots enemies with a turret he place in Battlefield 2042.

If you want to try Battlefield 2042 for free on PC, your time is running out. You have just over a day to download and play it on Steam before it goes back to being a full-price release.
Battlefield 2042's free access period on Steam began on March 13, about two weeks after the start of Season 4: Eleventh Hour. If you go to its store page on Steam, you can download and play it for free until 12 p.m. ET on March 16. The game is also discounted on Steam during this time, so you can pick Battlefield 2042 up for $18 instead of $60.
If you don't want to buy the game directly but still want to continue playing after this free trial period, you have some options. Battlefield 2042 is included in multiple subscription services at the moment. It is one of March 2023's monthly PlayStation Plus titles for both PS4 and PS5 subscribers. Meanwhile, it's available as part of the EA Play game library, which Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S all have access to.
If you use the same EA account on those platforms, you'll be able to carry over all of your account progression and items and not lose any progress. As such, this free access period on Steam is a great time to check out Battlefield 2042 if you've been on the fence about picking it up.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Its free Steam demo ends on March 16.

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Battlefield 2042’s new season adds a map set in the developer’s homeland

Soldiers fighting on Battlefield 2042 Season 3 map Spearhead.

EA unveiled everything players can expect from Battlefield 2042 Season 3: Escalation ahead of its November 22 start date. The most notable addition is a brand new map called Spearhead, which is set in Sweden, the homeland of the Battlefield series' main developer, DICE.
Surprisingly, Spearhead is the first Battlefield map set in DICE's home country. The map is centered around two Nordvik manufacturing facilities in the Swedish wilderness, surrounded by very rocky and uneven landscapes. It looks like a map full of interesting terrain that will benefit some vehicles, like the brand-new EMKV90-TOR tank, more than others. Later in Season 3: Escalation, the Manifest map will be reworked to be less cluttered and more tightly designed, while a Breakaway rework will move the Oil Rig to a location much closer to where most action on the map takes place.

Of course, Season 3: Escalation is more than just a new map, battle pass, and some map reworks. A new assault Special named Rasheed Zain is an Egyptian soldier whose legs were amputated after a military accident and replaced with prosthetics. He wields an Airburst launcher and recharges his health very fast after getting a kill, making him great on the front lines of a fight.
The Rorsch MK-4 railgun, the NVK-S22 shotgun, NVK-P125 long-range pistol, the throwing knife, and vault weapons XM8 and A-91 spice things up on the weapons front. EA and DICE also teased that they'll finally start to rework Battlefield 2042's Specialist and Class systems toward the end of the season.
Battlefield 2042 Season 3: Escalation begins on November 22 across all platforms. The game will also be added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via EA Play on that date. Later, the PS5 version of Battlefield 2042 will be free to try between December 16 and December 23.