In the Battlefield update from January 20, a form of the traditional class system was introduced to BF2042. They're only half-committing to the class-system though, as Specialists will remain in the game.
Battlefield 2042 is still getting updates, which is pretty incredible given how small the playerbase is in 2023. But so far, these updates have failed to bring back a significant number of players to the game.
EA are hoping they can win over the hearts of legacy fans by bringing back a great feature in Update 3.2, however. Yep, the class system is back... but we need to level with you: this is a sh*t version of the class system you know and love. Let's get to the details.
Battlefield 2042's Hybrid Specialist-Class System
"Specialists" will still be in Battlefield 2042 after this update, but each of the Specialists will be separated into the four traditional classes: Assault, Engineer, Support & Recon. You can choose whatever weapon you want, but you can only use certain gadgets and pieces of equipment depending on your class. So they're only bringing back the class system in name.
If they were to truly commit to returning to a class system then they would at least restrict weapons to each of the classes. This is what truly separates the classes in older Battlefield games, not the type of grenades they use. What can we say, EA continue to disappoint. You can read their explanation in the most recent dev blog post here.
It's funny to laugh at Battlefield 2042, but you should focus on one of the great new games coming in 2023 rather than focusing on this dumpster fire: