EA Retiring Legacy Battlefield Games, Digital Sales Ending in April

[T0@st]

As we close in on 15 years since the release of Battlefield 1943, and Bad Company 1 & 2, we are announcing that their journey is coming to an end. Starting April 28 2023, Battlefield 1943, and Battlefield: Bad Company 1 & 2 will be removed from digital storefronts and you will no longer be able to purchase them.

This is in preparation for the retirement of the online services for these titles which will happen on December 8 2023. For Bad Company 1 and 2, you can still continue playing them and use their respective offline features, such as the single player campaign. You can also read our FAQ and Service Updates for further information on the retirement of online services.

Update 14:17 UTC: EA updated their press release this morning, to clarify that the inclusion of Mirror's Edge was an error. They stated via Twitter: "We currently have no plans to remove Mirror's Edge from digital storefronts."



While these titles hold a special place in our heart, we're now looking forward to creating new memories alongside you as we shift our focus towards our current and future Battlefield experiences. With this announcement we also want to take a moment today to reflect on our time with Battlefield 1943, and Bad Company 1 & 2. We share amazing memories of not only their development, but also playing them alongside you.



Battlefield 1943

At the time this was our third entry in the Battlefield franchise available on consoles, and took you to World War II as you fought in the Pacific as either the United States Marine Corps or the Imperial Japanese Navy.

1943 was only ever released as a digital game, and was exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but crucially for the first time, it offered us the ability to play Wake Island on console.



Bad Company

Marlowe. Sweetwater. Redford and Haggard. Four names that resonate a lot with you as Battlefield: Bad Company introduced an iconic and relatable bunch of troublemakers who risked it all and went AWOL to pursue a personal quest.

Not only has the cast and their story piqued your interest, but their endless pursuit of gold bars as you battled it out through Gold Rush - a mode that is now called Rush - added a new core mode to the Battlefield franchise. It wouldn't be Bad Company without referencing the lovable but deadly smiley grenade did too!

It also marked the birth of the Frostbite engine and the fun and chaotic multiplayer experience that has run through Battlefield ever since.



Bad Company 2

The band got back together for what they thought to be their final mission within Bad Company 2, which involved them going behind enemy lines. However upon completion, they were tasked with heading towards South America on what became an increasingly riskier but also mysterious mission.

Bad Company 2 was also the first time that PC players were introduced to this band of military outcasts, alongside new improvements coming to the Frostbite engine.

//The DICE and Battlefield Teams

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Luke357]

Farewell Bad Company 2, you will not be forgotten I will miss running through Atacama Desert and Arica Harbor with my magnum ammo UZI with a 4X scope.

 

[KrazyT]

Back then, i didn't expect anything from Mirror's Edge ...
And the game hooked me, it was really great and original (for once !)

 

[Upgrayedd]

I loved 1943. One my absolute favorite BF games. Now I could see removing this game from the storefront since online is being removed.

But why remove BC1 BC2 and mirrors edge from the store? Just disable online and discount them a lot or put them on GOG. Why a total denial of access?

 

[Recus]

Video games expiration date when?

 

[ir_cow]

Why are they doing this to games that have player hosted servers? Look at you BF.

Video games expiration date when?

When companies want to sell you the same thing again.

 

[qlum]

While in terms of age it seems fair that the servers are shutting down but bc2 still had active servers at least last year, a shame it has to end though.
As for removal from the storefronts, a disclaimer that the multiplayer portion no longer works would have been the better option.

I really wish they open things up for community alternatives.


I have definitely had fond memories of bfbc2 it's definitely the battlefield game I enjoyed most. Battlefield 3 for me was quite the disappointment, from which the franchise has never truly recovered for me.

I will add here that it's nice that they have half a year between ending sales and ending support, so you won't end up with an Ubisoft.
A warning and contining selling the game would be better but still.

 

[ZoneDymo]

again, it should just be made open for people to host their own servers etc

 

[sam_86314]

EA: We're removing our games from storefronts. No more purchases allowed.

Also EA: Why are people pirating our games?

Fortunately for Mirror's Edge, it's available on GOG for now so you can download the offline installer.

 

[Keullo-e]

I have Mirror's Edge in Origin/EA App and it hasn't worked for years, complaining about licensing. Like said above, luckily it's also on GOG.

 

[Denver]

I loved 1943. One my absolute favorite BF games. Now I could see removing this game from the storefront since online is being removed.

But why remove BC1 BC2 and mirrors edge from the store? Just disable online and discount them a lot or put them on GOG. Why a total denial of access?

Exactly what I was going to say. it's not like keeping games available for purchase is doing them any harm..

 

[Camm]

I know its EA but I wish they'd just release the games for free download & let the community distribute versions, patches & maintain servers. They've done the first in the past with Command & Conquer. Unfortunately, they destroyed the BF Revive project with the latter.

 

[Hoak]

"New Memories"... What a horrific malapropism, new EA marketing genius at work again... You can be sure any "New Memories", unless it's government mandated brainwashing -- won't be good...

 

[HeadRusch1]

These titles probably no longer generate enough revenue to justify keeping them available for purchase. If you can buy the game online, that means that game is sitting on a server that's probably leased, with bandwidth that's probably leased, and EA would then have a liability to provide support services (Help Desk) for that new software.......that's probably costing them money, not making it on $5 dollar, 13 year old game sales.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I know its EA but I wish they'd just release the games for free download & let the community distribute versions, patches & maintain servers. They've done the first in the past with Command & Conquer. Unfortunately, they destroyed the BF Revive project with the latter.

Unfortunately, I cant speak for BF Revive but BFHUB does and still exists -- Im not aware if there are such projects to bring in older BF games.

Im wondering if there will be the same thing for Bad Company 2

 

[caroline!]

I have Mirror's Edge in Origin/EA App and it hasn't worked for years, complaining about licensing. Like said above, luckily it's also on GOG.

Massive dick move as in imagine paying for a game and then not being able to play it because of hellish DRM or dead download servers. Buying it again isn't a fix honestly, why pay twice for the same?

Not a big fan of Battlefield because they're extremely toxic mp games but I remember going Rambo in Mirrors Edge, there's a mission where you're supposed to hide and run from some heavy soldiers BUT if you're persistent and fast enough you can bait one of them into a room and basically punch him a thousand times until he falls, then grab his low poly machine gun and clear the whole level.
Because you're not supposed to do that or see what's at the bottom of the tower, half of the level is unfinished and simply rendered with a white generic texture.

It can be a FPS if you play it wrong enough, shame you can't keep the gun, but I think the same guys return by the endgame and you can do the same to defeat the "boss" in like 3 seconds.

 

[Jism]

again, it should just be made open for people to host their own servers etc

Renting out servers is a business model. I do agree tho. Simple SSH command to install any game (server) you like and up you go.

 

[KrazyT]

Is some of you remember the anti crack protection from Mirror's Edge ?
In the 4th level (if my memory's correct), there is a big jump to do, but at the moment you're close to jump, the game slows down so you can't do a long jump : you fall and die.
It was fun to see people on forums striking the game because of the jump bug in level 4

 

[N3utro]

Release the games assets and source code if you're going to shut them down so the fans can keep them alive if you wont

 

[sanorene]

Farewell Bad Company 2, you will not be forgotten I will miss running through Atacama Desert and Arica Harbor with my magnum ammo UZI with a 4X scope.

Right there with you.
BC2 is one of my personal top 5 games I have ever played and I have been waiting YEARS for BC3 to no avail.

 

[droopyRO]

I loved the Bad Company 2's campaign, it got me in to the Battlefield franchise. Wish Bad Company 1 had a PC version. Can't believe it's been 12 years since i first played it. BF3 and 4 were great too, but i quit the franchise when BF1 and V came out. Maybe someday EA will decide to let DICE do a propper Battlefield game again or at least remake the oldies BF BC2, 3 and 4 in a modern engine with the same core gameplay.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy".

 

[droopyRO]

"You'll own nothing and you'll be happy".

Buy from GOG and/or pirate it, there is always a way, have hope

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

I loved 1943. One my absolute favorite BF games. Now I could see removing this game from the storefront since online is being removed.

But why remove BC1 BC2 and mirrors edge from the store? Just disable online and discount them a lot or put them on GOG. Why a total denial of access?

Because they want to force you into the NEW battlefield games with microtransactions, DLC, season passes, and a lack of content that totally wont be sold to you later, all with always online DRM.

Welcome to the future.

The greatest crime was that 1943 never made it to PC.

 

[THU31]

In case anyone is wondering, there's still a way to play BC2 on PC with Project Rome - https://veniceunleashed.net/project-rome
You can even transfer your soldier from official servers, although I'm not sure how that works now (I think it uses a 3rd party database or something). I managed to copy my Xbox 360 soldier before the servers went down.
Unfortunately even though there are many servers available, usually only one is relatively full. But you can join empty ones and run around to bring back some memories.

I played BF1943 with a friend one more time before they shut it down. I captured some footage and made a highlights video to keep as a memento. I love this game. If they made a proper remaster, I'd play it all the time.