It was supposed to be released later this month, but a few weeks ago it was announced that Electronic Arts had pushed the Battlefield 2042 release to November 19. This means that the additional process, including open beta testing, has also been moved. So the wait took a little longer than expected, but tonight is really the time and the Battlefield 2042 open beta begins. In the beta, players can play Conquest on the Orbital map. It happens on new consoles, on PC with 128 players, and on older consoles with 64 players. Players who pre-order Battlefield or EA Play members can play on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Other players will have to wait until Friday to start using the two-day trial. Tweakers played this content extensively a few days ago and it didn’t disappoint.

The play session with demo content has been coming for a while and the longest wait has been rewarded. The Conquest games we played on Orbital were full of amazing and unforgettable moments. Orbital is a map we already saw when Battlefield 2042 was revealed. Work takes place in and around the launch site where a rocket is about to be launched into space. The sprawling base houses all kinds of buildings and other facilities, which of course is also the scene of some fierce battles. The highlights are the launch pad that houses the missile and a high-rise building opposite it, which is used to assemble the missiles before launch. The center of gravity of the map, where most of the action takes place, is in the area between these two tall buildings.

Orbital isn’t the biggest map in Battlefield 2042, but it certainly is. It must be so, otherwise you will quickly turn into a mess with 128 people. It wasn’t too bad during our matches, although the above area is the exception, because there’s really always heavy fighting here. This is difficult for several reasons. First, from that central area, you quickly reach different strategic points where you can grab the flags that will help your team achieve victory. This is what makes this area popular. In addition, it is difficult to get around safely at all: it is a low area between two high structures eagerly used by snipers. The open area in the middle often turns out to be a real “kill zone”.

We won’t have to explain to many players that taking and keeping flags is the key to success in Conquest, but just to be sure, the fewer flags your team has, the faster your team’s score drops. If you get to zero, you lose the game. So it is important to capture and keep as many flags as possible. What’s new in Battlefield 2042 is that sometimes you have to capture multiple flags to control a specific area. Battlefield 2042 will include a map where one area can contain three separate flags, all of which are factors that determine who controls the sector. It didn’t play a significant role in our demo games yet, but it looks like fun things can be done strategically.