Battlefield 2042's New Battle Pass Includes a Hilarious BF3 Meme

Battlefield 2042 fans are showering developer DICE with praise for including a reference to an iconic Battlefield 3 meme in the game’s final Battle Pass. On August 18, the Battlefield 2042 studio surprised the community with a big surprise update. Patch 9.2.0 not only included plenty of new content for fans to check out, but also a free Battle Pass that aims to celebrate the series’ history in the build-up to Battlefield 6.

While Battlefield 2042 was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews at launch, fans are flocking back to the controversial 2021 shooter in order to prepare for the release of Battlefield 6 on October 10. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the next entry in the series, and DICE appears to be taking full advantage of that with 2042‘s new “Road to Battlefield 6” Battle Pass. The free Pass is available in-game right now until October 7 and allows players to earn 50 new rewards, with 30 of them being available in Battlefield 6 at launch. DICE says the new Battle Pass is a celebration of the different Battlefield eras, and the studio doesn’t appear to be shying away from the series’ faults over the years.

Battlefield 2042 Pays Homage to the Long Neck Soldier

Many of the new rewards available in Battlefield 2042‘s Battle Pass pay homage to some of the most iconic entries in the series, including Battlefield 1, Battlefield V, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, and Battlefield 4. The rewards include player cards, weapon charms, vehicle skins, and much more. But one reward in particular has caught the attention of fans, as it appears to be a throwback to the iconic Battlefield 3 meme often referred to as the “long neck soldier.” The meme started out as a glitch in Battlefield 3, which saw the neck of one player become hilariously long. It went down as one of the funniest glitches in gaming history, and now DICE has paid homage to the joke in Battlefield 2042.

The Battle Pass is receiving tons of praise from the community, with one user even saying that they “take their hat off” to DICE for the surprise update. Unfortunately, not everyone is thrilled with patch 9.2.0. Alongside a new map, vehicles, and a fresh Battle Pass, the update also brought two new weapons to the game: the Lynx Sniper Rifle and the KFS2000 Assault Rifle. Unfortunately, the former of the two is receiving tons of hate from Battlefield 2042 players, with many blasting it as “the worst Sniper Rifle in the game,” largely due to its wide bullet spread.

Despite the previously negative reviews, Battlefield fans appear to be flocking back to 2042 to check out the new patch. Shortly after the release of the surprise update, Battlefield 2042‘s player count spiked to over 20,000 concurrent players on Steam. While it doesn’t quite compare to the 500,000+ players that jumped into the Battlefield 6 open beta on the platform, it’s the first time 2042 has seen that many concurrent players in over a year. With the free Pass including plenty of rewards for Battlefield 6, it could be a good few final months for Battlefield 2042.