Battlefield 1 vs Battlefield 2042
Battlefield 1 is an FPS open-world game from DICE (2016) while Battlefield 2042 is an FPS game from DICE (2021).
Quick answer: Battlefield 1 rates higher, 7.7 to 5.0 on the GamingPickz Score, and Battlefield 1 is the cheaper at $39.99.
What each one is
Battlefield 1 is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Battlefield 2042 under FPS.
Battlefield™ 1 takes you back to The Great War, WW1, where new technology and worldwide conflict changed the face of warfare forever.
Battlefield™ 2042 is a first-person shooter that marks the return to the iconic all-out warfare of the franchise.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Storm of Steel The prologue, set in 1918, sees players take control of different members of the Harlem Hellfighters as they defend their positions against a German offensive in France during the Second Battle of the Marne . The player initially starts out near the front line and must survive as long as possible against waves of German soldiers. If the player survives the attack, an artillery barrage will rain down on them and then the game's perspective… (Wikipedia)
Characters
During the single-player campaigns, the player controls six different characters from a first-person perspective over six different chapters (known as War Stories). Unlike previous campaigns in the series, Battlefield 1 s single-player story mode is composed of six separate "War Stories", each shown through the eyes of separate Allied soldiers from different nationalities: "Storm of Steel" – the prologue of the game, set in the Western Front through the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Edit on Wikidata Pre-release The game received positive response from the community after its official announcement. As of May 9, 2016, the Battlefield 1 reveal trailer had become the most liked trailer on YouTube , with over 2 million likes. Electronic Arts expected the game to sell at least 14 million units in its first year of release. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting and characters Battlefield 2042 takes place 22 years after the events of Battlefield 4 . Unlike previous installments, it does not have a single-player campaign. Instead, the story is told through multiplayer gameplay. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Critical response Battlefield 2042 received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic , making it the lowest-rated installment in the Battlefield series. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received weak approval, being recommended by 33% of critics. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game five out of five stars, writing: " Battlefield 2042 brings the sandbox back… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Battlefield 1 | Battlefield 2042 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.7/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (86%, 226,777) | Mixed (47%, 325,628) |
| Critic aggregate | 88/100 | 68/100 |
| Price | $39.99 | $59.99 |
| Install size | 50 GB | 100 GB |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | unsupported |
| Released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Developer | DICE | DICE |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Battlefield 1 vs Battlefield 2042, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Battlefield 1FPS open-world gameBattlefield 2042FPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Battlefield 1FPS, World War I, WarBattlefield 2042FPS, Shooter, MilitaryThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Battlefield 1 ✓Score 7.7 · 86% on Steam · 88 criticBattlefield 2042Score 5.0 · 47% on Steam · 68 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Battlefield 1226,777 reviews · 7 add-ons · 50 GBBattlefield 2042325,628 reviews · 2 add-ons · 100 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Battlefield 1 ✓$39.99Battlefield 2042$59.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Battlefield 1UnsupportedBattlefield 2042UnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Battlefield 1 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueBattlefield 1 and Battlefield 2042 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Battlefield 1 (GamingPickz Score 7.7)
- The cheaper right now: Battlefield 1 ($39.99)
- Lighter on storage: Battlefield 1 (50 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSMultiplayerSingleplayerWarShooterActionFirst-PersonPvP
Where they differ
World War IHistoricalAtmosphericMassively MultiplayerGoreTanks
MilitaryCombatTeam-BasedFuturisticVehicular CombatModern
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Battlefield 1 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Battlefield 2042 is relaxed, easy to pick up.
System requirements, side by side
| Battlefield 1 | Battlefield 2042 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | AMD Radeon RX 560 |
| Minimum CPU | Processor (AMD): AMD FX-6350 Processor (Intel): Intel Core i5 6600K | AMD Ryzen 5 1600, Core i5 6600K |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Install size | 50 GB | 100 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Battlefield 1 · Battlefield 2042.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Battlefield 1 and 5 for Battlefield 2042. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Battlefield 1 and Battlefield 2042 in scope?
Battlefield 1 has drawn 226,777 Steam reviews, ships 7 add-ons and installs in 50 GB. Battlefield 2042 has drawn 325,628 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 100 GB.
Is Battlefield 1 or Battlefield 2042 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Battlefield 1 rates higher (7.7 to 5.0). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Battlefield 1 or Battlefield 2042?
Battlefield 1 is cheaper right now at $39.99, against $59.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Battlefield 1 or Battlefield 2042?
Battlefield 1 rates higher, 7.7 to 5.0 on the GamingPickz Score, and Battlefield 1 is the cheaper at $39.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.