All Battlefield games in order

The Battlefield series is one of the gaming industry’s seminal FPS franchises and is responsible for introducing or evolving many of the genre’s now commonplace mechanics and gameplay styles. The concept of the “Battlefield Moment,” a fantastical series of events that wouldn’t be possible in any other game, is something that other series have tried to replicate – and almost unanimously failed. Battlefield boasts some of the best shooters ever seen on any platform. And despite recent attempts to chase trends or change what made it great in the first place, the games listed here, which represent a complete picture of the Battlefield series, are still home to all-time classics.

Battlefield 1942

• Release date: 2002
• platform:PC
• Extensions: The Road to Rome (2003), Special Weapons of World War II (2003)

The game that started it all, BF 1942, came out a year before the original Call of Duty and set the standard for all Battlefield games to come. It was rough around the edges, with map design and weapon handling that modern gamers would find archaic and clunky, but the vehicle gameplay was solid, the faction-specific equipment system was novel, and it offered for the time what no other game could.

Battlefield Vietnam

• Release date: 2004
• platform:PC
• Extensions: None

This original appearance was the first of two appearances of Battlefield in the Vietnam cinema and represented an evolution of the franchise in every respect. New weapons, vehicles, the same great map design and, above all, the introduction of the class system. While not the groundbreaking work its successor was intended to be, BF Vietnam remains a popular entry for series veterans.

Battlefield 2

• Release date: 2005
• platform:PC
• Extensions: Special Forces (2005), Euro Force (2006), Armored Fury (2006)

Battlefield 2 was by far the biggest and best game that would shape the series for years to come. BF2 was the first game of the modern era to expand the class system to seven entries, each with unique roles. His iconic maps would return in Battlefield 3, a testament to their quality and their ability to stand the test of time. The gameplay was also excellent and Battlefield 2 still has a small but dedicated player base almost twenty years after its release. The main issue? You can’t buy it anywhere and the official servers are long dead. You now have to take alternative routes to play.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat

• Release date: 2006
• platform: Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360
• Extensions: None

Modern Combat, the first Battlefield game exclusive to consoles, was not a sequel to BF2, but rather a standalone game. With five classes and 16 maps at launch, as well as a single player component, it may not have been the absolute hit that BF2 was, but that didn’t mean it was a fantastic entry in the series. The opportunity to introduce the Battlefield series to a growing console user base was also great.

Battlefield 2142

• Release date: 2006
• platform:PC
• Extensions: Northern Strike (2007)

Battlefield’s first and only entry into the distant future, 2142, was a transformative moment for the franchise in the sense that it proved that DICE could adopt a more experimental version of the BF formula and succeed. In the more than fifteen years since its release, players around the world have clamored for a sequel to 2142, and although the official servers have been offline since 2014, the community has banded together to keep BF2142 alive.

Battlefield Bad Company

• Release date: 2008
• platform: Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility)
• Extensions: None

Bad Company was another proof of concept for DICE, showing that they were capable of creating a more lighthearted take on the otherwise dark FPS genre of the time. Another console exclusive, BC was the first game to allow active destruction via the new and now (in)famous Frostbite engine. It wasn’t a slam dunk, but the reinterpretation of the old formula was well received by the players.

Battlefield heroes

• Release date: 2009
• platform:PC
• Extensions: None

As the first free-to-play Battlefield game and one of the few third-person shooters in the franchise, BF Heroes featured some of the F2P mechanics we know today, but it also retained much of what made Battlefield the game players loved. Classes, good maps, solid fundamentals and vehicle gameplay were present. And although the game lost official support in 2015, it is still playable today thanks to community support.

Battlefield 1943

• Release date: 2002
• platform: Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility)
• Extensions: None

As one of the smallest Battlefield games, with only four playable maps, three classes, stripped-down progression and weapon mechanics, and many other compromises, BF1943 was somehow still a viable entry into a franchise that wasn’t ten years old. Did it reach the heights of BF2 or was it as lighthearted as Bad Company? No, but it was still Battlefield, and for some that was enough.

Battlefield Bad Company 2

• Release date: 2010
• platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility)
• Extensions: Bad Company 2 Vietnam

Bad Company 2, perhaps the most important Battlefield game of its time, was the introduction to the series for many players. It also directly competed with Call of Duty: Black Ops, the game with the unenviable task of following up the blockbuster Modern Warfare 2. Like its predecessor, Bad Company 2 eschewed the large battlefields of the mainline series in favor of infantry combat and higher map design and one of the best class balances in the franchise.

Battlefield Play4Free

• Release date: 2011
• platform:PC
• Extensions: None

Play4Free, the second free-to-play offering in the Battlefield series, was surprisingly, well, playable even with its F2P status. It had the four classes many players expected, some of the best maps and weapons from previous entries, and was generally pretty good. The problem was that the release was sandwiched between Bad Company 2, which was still doing well, and the next entry on our list.

Battlefield 3

• Release date: 2011
• platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One (via backwards compatibility)
• Extensions: Back to Karkand, Close Quarters, Armored Kill, Aftermath, Endgame

Finally, the community thought, a return to the classic Battlefield like BF2. One problem: Bad Company 2 had brought a whole new audience to the franchise, and not everyone was a fan. However, that didn’t stop Battlefield 3 from being a fantastic game in its own right, with the great reappearance of jets and helicopters, tons of tanks and large-scale conflicts.

Battlefield 4

• Release date: 2013
• platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4
• Extensions: Second Assault (2013), China Rising (2014), Naval Strike (2014), Dragon’s Teeth (2014), Final Stand (2014)

BF4 took many of Battlefield 3’s lessons and mistakes to heart and was bigger, if not always better, in every way. At launch there were more weapons, more vehicles and more than enough maps. More than twenty additional cards of varying quality would be added, as well as even more equipment to unlock.

Battlefield Hardline

• Release date: 2015
• platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4
• Extensions: Criminal Activity (2015), Robbery (2015), Blackout (2015), Getaway (2016), Betrayal (2016)

The black sheep of modern Battlefield games, Hardline was a major breakthrough for veterans. It missed out on massive battlefields and grand vehicular combat in favor of a much faster pace, smaller maps, and a slightly more tongue-in-cheek gameplay design. It wasn’t what many Battlefield players expected or wanted, and while there’s still a small and vocal community that loved the game, it’s pretty much impossible to play Hardline these days.

Battlefield 1

1. Release date: 2016
2. platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
3. Extensions: They Shall Not Pass (2016), In the Name of the Tsar (2017), Turning Tides (2017-2018), Apocalypse (2018)

Battlefield 1 was, for some, the “last good Battlefield game” and brought back much of what fans expected from their BF game: huge maps, lots of destruction, a longer kill time, and (mostly) a move away from gimmicks. There were also plenty of opportunities to achieve the instant-action gameplay that the newer members loved, giving BF1 a huge player base.

Battlefield V

• Release date: 2018
• platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
• Extensions: Overture (2019), Lightning Strikes (2019), Trial by Fire (2019), Defying the Odds (2019), Battlefest (2019), War in the Pacific (2020)

Battlefield 5 had some interesting new ideas and overhauled many of the classes and mechanics that players were familiar with. Unfortunately, neither the maps, shooting, nor performance were up to standard on any platform, and although BFV received a full suite of DLC content, few players remember it fondly. The fact that the battle royale mode that came with the game seemed to have robbed the base version of the support it needed to shine didn’t help.

Battlefield 2042

• Release date: 2021
• platform:PC
• Extensions: Multiple maps and tons of map reworks throughout the content seasons

Battlefield 2042 is a sad tale of bad timing, new developers thrown into the fire, and chronic misdirection. As one of many games developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and developed by a relatively new team that lacked the support of franchise veterans, 2042 seemed doomed from the start. To say it launched in a difficult state would be doing the word a disservice, but DICE and EA have invested in the title and gotten it to a point where it’s at least enjoyable, even if it’s just a shadow of that , what the series could be.