Things are evidently not going well over at Battlefield 2042 developer DICE. According to new information from one insider, EA, the game's publisher, is seemingly interested in exploring the path of free-to-play.

It is no secret that Battlefield 2042 has not been the hit EA expected it to be. Though DICE continues to improve the game's technical state with patches, there is still a lack of content compared to past games. Battlefield 2042 has also disappointed many of its players, and it lead to a major exodus, where the game's player numbers on Steam are regularly below those of Battlefield 5, and even Battlefield 1.

DICE's first comment in the new year didn't touch on any of the outstanding design problems, or discuss future content/roadmap. According to new details from insider Tom Henderson, that is seemingly due to a lack of clarity internally about where the game is headed.

In a new video discussing the state of DICE, Henderson claims that EA is exploring potentially making one component free-to-play. Though it's unclear at this stage which part would qualify, the thinking points to either Portal, or Hazard Zone. The former is more likely, according to the report, because Hazard Zone only attracts a few hundred players each day, so it wouldn't make the best impression/convert players to the full game.

As Henderson suggests, EA's earnings call is not far off. Taking place on February 1, there's a possibility the publisher will have more to share about the game's financial performance, and what changes, if any, are being made to right the ship.