EA has announced the permanent removal of some of its legacy titles from digital storefronts, preceding its plans to shutter online services for select titles in December this year.
Battlefield 1943, Battlefield Bad Company and Bad Company 2 will all be delisted starting April 28th, meaning they will no longer be available for new purchases. Both of the Bad Company games will still function in their offline capacities for anyone who already owns them, but Battlefield 1943 will no longer function due to being an online multiplayer-only title.
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EA has shared some eulogistic passages for each game, a solemn reminder of how important video game preservation is in the face of these sorts of delistings:
Battlefield 1943
At the time this was our third entry in the Battlefield franchise available on consoles, and took you to World War II as you fought in the Pacific as either the United States Marine Corps or the Imperial Japanese Navy.
1943 was only ever released as a digital game, and was exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but crucially for the first time, it offered us the ability to play Wake Island on console.
Bad Company
Marlowe. Sweetwater. Redford and Haggard. Four names that resonate a lot with you as Battlefield: Bad Company introduced an iconic and relatable bunch of troublemakers who risked it all and went AWOL to pursue a personal quest.
Not only has the cast and their story piqued your interest, but their endless pursuit of gold bars as you battled it out through Gold Rush – a mode that is now called Rush – added a new core mode to the Battlefield franchise. It wouldn’t be Bad Company without referencing the loveable but deadly smiley grenade did too!
It also marked the birth of the Frostbite engine and the fun and chaotic multiplayer experience that has run through Battlefield ever since.
Bad Company 2
The band got back together for what they thought to be their final mission within Bad Company 2, which involved them going behind enemy lines. However upon completion, they were tasked with heading towards South America on what became an increasingly riskier but also mysterious mission.
Bad Company 2 was also the first time that PC players were introduced to this band of military outcasts, alongside new improvements coming to the Frostbite engine.
