Battlefield 1943, and Bad Company 1 and 2’s online services are shutting down

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it is sunsetting some of the older titles in the Battlefield franchise in 2023, beginning with the removal of the games from digital storefronts.

The details:

• In a new blog post, EA has confirmed that legacy Battlefield titles, 1943 and both Bad Company games, are being shut down after over a decade of service. On April 28, 2023, all three titles will be removed from all digital storefronts, including Steam, the Xbox Marketplace, the PlayStation Store, and EA's own app. After the games are delisted, players who have purchased a copy will still be able to download and play them in the future.
• On December 8, all online services for the games will be suspended, leaving only single-player game modes such as campaigns available. Since 1943 is a multiplayer-only release, the retirement of the services means that it will be officially unplayable. Fans are expected to find an alternative way to play these entries online in the future, just as older games such as Battlefield 2 had their multiplayer mode revived via a community client that replaced the defunct GameSpy service.
• Some players who have continued to play the titles, particularly Bad Company 2, have been irritated by the news of a service shutdown, while many others have pointed out that the move was inevitable since EA was essentially keeping the servers for a very small portion of the series' playerbase. In terms of where its players will go next, it's worth noting that a small portion of Bad Company 2 content has been remade in Battlefield 2042's Portal mode, though the mode hasn't been updated in a while.

Other EA news:

• Respawn Entertainment has opened up another studio location in Wisconsin. The new Madison, WI, location is being led by gaming industry veteran Ryan Burnett and it will continue to work on future Apex Legends content alongside the studio’s existing locations.
• A "year 2 upgrade" for Battlefield 2042 has been spotted in the Origin API. The upgrade is listed in the code as a "DLC" with an assumed placeholder price of €2 and was last updated on March 17. It's unclear what the apparent upgrade will involve, but fans believe it's simply a way for EA to confirm that the game will continue to be supported as it enters its second year of live service.