Battlefield 2042 fans upset at leaked Santa Claus skin

UPDATE 3/12/21: Battlefield 2042 developer DICE has responded to yesterday's leak of an upcoming Santa Claus skin - which caused a backlash among fans of the military shooter.

In a long Twitter thread, DICE did not mention the Santa skin by name - but did talk generally about the use of "unique cosmetics" it had designed for "special #Battlefield Portal modes to further enhance the fantasy in special events". The suggestion, then, is that you won't be able to run around as Santa in all modes forever.

DICE also pointed out that cosmetics such as these are planned and designed well ahead of time - likely to counter the frustration among some fans who thought the studio was whiling away the time creating cosmetics instead of fixing the game's bugs.

"Development for Live Service requires us to work months in advance, and enables us to have options when we reach key moments in our first year," DICE continued. "Today, we have other priorities, and so whilst we have the skins, we presently have no plans to utilise all of them this Holiday."

After yesterday's backlash, will Santa now appear at all? Many players still ho-ho-hope not.

Development for Live Service requires us to work months in advance, and enables us to have options when we reach key moments in our first year

Today, we have other priorities, and so whilst we have the skins, we presently have no plans to utilize all of them this Holiday.

ORIGINAL STORY 2/12/21: To say Battlefield 2042 had a rough launch would be an understatement.

DICE has been scrambling to patch the game after it arrived riddled with bugs. But just as it has started to quell the community's frustration with the game, the EA developer has kicked off a set of new frustrations.

Today's update included a range of cosmetic items that seem to have been accidentally revealed too early, although this does explain why the update is a meaty 5GB in size (on the PlayStation 5).

Players haven't taken too kindly to the hidden cosmetics, which one fan described as "Fortnite skins" (sorry, Fortnite fans).

But one particular skin has been seen as particularly offensive to the hardcore Battlefield community: the legendary "Father Winter".

Available for the specialist Pyotr Boris Guskovsky, the sentry operator dons a red-hooded jacket that perfectly complements Boris' lush beard.

Preview of the upcoming weekly mission rewards! 👀

The #Battlefield2042 pre-season will last at least 8 weeks. pic.twitter.com/jRptlTrcD1

The main gripe players have is the creative decision by DICE to move away from the dark and gritty tone the franchise is known for to something more akin to the likes of Fortnite, which is continuously monetised through the addition of new cosmetics.

"DICE expects me to be able to take the game seriously with literal santa claus running around shooting people in what's supposed to be a world where billions are displaced, natural disasters are destroying the planet, and there's about to be a massive world proxy war," questioned one Reddit commenter. "And we're supposed to take all that into account with santa fucking claus running around on the battlefield."

Similar issue has been taken with the post-match quips, which seem out of place in a game where players actively slaughter each other.

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DICE has yet to comment on the fan reaction to these latest additions.

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