The poor reception of Battlefield 2042 is indicated by the scale of the toxicity on the Battlefield 2042 subreddit, which almost saw it shut down. This toxicity centered around a series of since-deleted tweets from EA global communications director Andy McNamara about the “brutal” fan expectations surrounding Battlefield 2042. While fans seem to have since moved on from these tweets, there’s a new focus of the Battlefield 2042 subreddit, and it looks likely that this new focus could last for some time. Fortunately, this time around, there’s more of a lighthearted twist to the Battlefield 2042 subreddits’ ire, but it is nonetheless grounded in fans’ frustrations.
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Battlefield 2042’s New Webster Mackay Skin
A new mission has recently been added to Battlefield 2042 that has caught the eye of the Battlefield fanbase somewhat. While it isn’t exactly the mission itself that has proven controversial, the reward has stuck out as a point of interest. It is often the case that games will receive backlash for skins, as is the case with microtransactions in the Call of Duty series, however, this skin is completely free to owners of the game. The issue pointed out by fans is that the new Webster Mackay skin bears a striking resemblance to that of Woody from Toy Story.
This isn’t the first time fans have taken issue with a controversial Battlefield 2042 skin, as one released around Holiday time introduced Santa Claus to the Battlefield series. Each of these skins has clashed with the overall aesthetic of Battlefield 2042, although perhaps more so in the case of Santa Claus. Battlefield’s foundations are built upon that of a grizzled military shooter, so to have Santa or even a cowboy running around in multiplayer lobbies can be immersion-breaking. Fans have looked to battle against each of these skins, and as can be expected from the gaming community, they’ve turned to memes to voice their frustrations.
Battlefield 2042s Toy Story Memes
As many people have noted, one of Battlefield 2042s specialists looks a lot like Woody from Toy Story, much to fans’ disappointment. The result of this has been a number of Toy Story memes that have popped up around the Battlefield community. Some have replaced Webster Mackay’s face with that of Woody as a comment on the similarity of their chosen outfits. These memes can be seen as lighthearted observations about a character’s appearance, but they may signal something different to long-time Battlefield fans.
To these long-time Battlefield fans, these memes may be a way to signal the changes they’ve seen in the tone of Battlefield over the years. Historically, Battlefield has offered a more serious take on the military shooter genre than the likes of Call of Duty, characterized by its nameless soldiers. This has changed in Battlefield 2042 with the introduction of specialists, and some of the more outlandish specialist skins further throw this into doubt. Battlefield 2042 is a more cartoony shooter than its predecessors, and the Toy Story memes are a good way for fans to make a comment on this that may gain some traction.
Battlefield 2042 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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