Price, release date revealed for Battlefield 3 Aftermath DLC

By Earnest Cavalli Published October 18, 2012

Battlefield 3 Aftermath — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The official Battlefield 3 blog was updated today to include a full rundown of the features found in the upcoming Aftermath downloadable content addition. Crucially it also includes pricing details and an official announcement of the DLC’s planned release date.

We’ll get to that in a moment, but for those of you who just walked in, the Aftermath DLC for Battlefield 3 is focused on long-range combat and vehicles. The maps in this DLC are larger than any of those so far seen in the game, and it also adds new weapons, new game modes and a wide range of vehicles.

Additionally, those who played through the singleplayer portion of Battlefield 3 will recall a scene in which the entire city is torn apart by a massive earthquake. Aftermath, in what might be the first display of continuity in the main Battlefield series since its debut, takes place after that earthquake, and all of its maps will feature rubble and other noticeable effects of the ‘quake. If nothing else this should set its map designs apart from those currently available for the game.

As for what it specifically adds to the game, there’s the new silent crossbow (pictured above), four new maps, and a new “Scavenger” game type in which players spawn with only a pistol and are forced to scavenge for better gear. As per usual, the DLC also brings with it new Achievements/Trophies and dog tags for dedicated fans to spend obscene amounts of time collecting.

Assuming all of this has your interest piqued, you’ll be glad to hear that Aftermath arrives on November 27. PlayStation 3 owners who have purchased the Battlefield 3 Premium service will be able to use the new content first, while Xbox 360 owners and PC gamers will have to wait until December 4. Assuming you have Premium, you’ll be able to download the DLC addition for free the moment it’s available, but those who choose to pick up this DLC by itself will be charged $15 and will be unable to play as early as November 27.

Unless Battlefield developer DICE has secret plans for future Battlefield 3 DLC, it’s also important to remember that after this Aftermath DLC arrives, the game will only receive one more downloadable addition. It’s appropriately dubbed “Endgame” and is expected to appear in March of 2013.

Earnest Cavalli

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…

Gaming

Baldur’s Gate 3’s release date just got delayed and moved up at the same time

A Baldur's Gate 3 character lights the way.

The PC and PS5 versions of Baldur's Gate 3 have gotten new release dates, leading to a weird situation where the game's launch has been moved up and delayed at the same time.
Originally announced for Google Stadia in 2019, Baldur's Gate 3 is a successor to BioWare's classic Dungeons & Dragons RPG franchise and has been in early access on PC since October 2020. Its 1.0 PC release, as well as a PS5 port, were confirmed to launch on August 31 earlier this year, but that is no longer the case. In the latest community update, developer Larian Studios confirmed that Baldur's Gate 3 launches for PC on August 3 and for PS5 on September 6.
Larian admits that "this means the PC version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released at a time where you’ll have more time to play it," moving its launch away from late August and early September heavy hitters like Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and Starfield. And now, the new PS5 release date for Baldur's Gate 3 gives PlayStation players a console-exclusive RPG of their own (albeit a temporary one) on the day Starfield comes out.

Still, the September 6 date is technically a delay, which Larian also explained its reasoning behind in the community update. "Baldur’s Gate 3 is targeting 60 frames-per-second, and we’re close to achieving that on the platform but need a bit more extra time," it explained. "We don’t want to compromise on quality and feel it would be a shame to downscale to 30 fps or make other compromises to hit an arbitrary date. We understand that folks may be disappointed with this, but we're close enough to reaching new heights for RPGs on the system that the benefits of a short delay outweigh the downsides of rushing the PS5 release and having to downscale."
So to clarify, Baldur's Gate 3 first launches on PC across Steam, GOG, and Nvidia GeForce Now on August 3. Then, a PS5 port comes out on September 6. Larian Studios also confirms that a Mac version is in the works and that it's "optimistic" about Xbox works once it works through the kinks of getting it to run well on both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

Gaming

Time is running out to play Battlefield 2042 for free

Crawford shoots enemies with a turret he place in Battlefield 2042.

If you want to try Battlefield 2042 for free on PC, your time is running out. You have just over a day to download and play it on Steam before it goes back to being a full-price release.
Battlefield 2042's free access period on Steam began on March 13, about two weeks after the start of Season 4: Eleventh Hour. If you go to its store page on Steam, you can download and play it for free until 12 p.m. ET on March 16. The game is also discounted on Steam during this time, so you can pick Battlefield 2042 up for $18 instead of $60.
If you don't want to buy the game directly but still want to continue playing after this free trial period, you have some options. Battlefield 2042 is included in multiple subscription services at the moment. It is one of March 2023's monthly PlayStation Plus titles for both PS4 and PS5 subscribers. Meanwhile, it's available as part of the EA Play game library, which Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S all have access to.
If you use the same EA account on those platforms, you'll be able to carry over all of your account progression and items and not lose any progress. As such, this free access period on Steam is a great time to check out Battlefield 2042 if you've been on the fence about picking it up.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Its free Steam demo ends on March 16.

Gaming

Battlefield 2042’s new season adds a map set in the developer’s homeland

Soldiers fighting on Battlefield 2042 Season 3 map Spearhead.

EA unveiled everything players can expect from Battlefield 2042 Season 3: Escalation ahead of its November 22 start date. The most notable addition is a brand new map called Spearhead, which is set in Sweden, the homeland of the Battlefield series' main developer, DICE.
Surprisingly, Spearhead is the first Battlefield map set in DICE's home country. The map is centered around two Nordvik manufacturing facilities in the Swedish wilderness, surrounded by very rocky and uneven landscapes. It looks like a map full of interesting terrain that will benefit some vehicles, like the brand-new EMKV90-TOR tank, more than others. Later in Season 3: Escalation, the Manifest map will be reworked to be less cluttered and more tightly designed, while a Breakaway rework will move the Oil Rig to a location much closer to where most action on the map takes place.

Of course, Season 3: Escalation is more than just a new map, battle pass, and some map reworks. A new assault Special named Rasheed Zain is an Egyptian soldier whose legs were amputated after a military accident and replaced with prosthetics. He wields an Airburst launcher and recharges his health very fast after getting a kill, making him great on the front lines of a fight.
The Rorsch MK-4 railgun, the NVK-S22 shotgun, NVK-P125 long-range pistol, the throwing knife, and vault weapons XM8 and A-91 spice things up on the weapons front. EA and DICE also teased that they'll finally start to rework Battlefield 2042's Specialist and Class systems toward the end of the season.
Battlefield 2042 Season 3: Escalation begins on November 22 across all platforms. The game will also be added to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via EA Play on that date. Later, the PS5 version of Battlefield 2042 will be free to try between December 16 and December 23.