Published on: 20/12/2021

Every Battlefield Game Ranked From Best to Worst

With the launch of Battlefield 2042 being a relative failure, the future of the Battlefield franchise hangs in the balance. This legendary FPS series spans more than twenty years, and in that time, it has seen a dozen main titles released. While the franchise has never performed quite as well as its competitor, Call of Duty, it still has a dynamic and diverse community. In this article, we’ll be ranking Battlefield games by taking a look at each game in the franchise and listing them from best to worst.

Where does your favourite Battlefield title land on the list? These rankings are made up of data taken from Metacritic, featuring both critic reviews and user scores.

Every Battlefield Game, Ranked

1. Battlefield 2 (2005) – 91%

Any attempt at ranking Battlefield games starts with Battlefield 2. On Metacritic, this game is considered the best Battlefield game and was released exclusively for PC in 2005. Battlefield 2 is the highest-rated Battlefield game of all time. It was massively well-received, offering unbeatable and realistic large-scale conflicts to fans of both action and MilSim titles.

2. Battlefield 1942 (2002) – 89%

Battlefield 1942 was the first title in the franchise to ever release, kicking off two decades of entertainment. It claims one of the highest Battlefield ‘user scores’ on Metacritic, landing in at 8.5. It was a truly epic start to the series, establishing Battlefield as a real player in the FPS genre.

3. Battlefield 1 (2016) – 89%

For many fans of the franchise, Battlefield 1 is considered to be the ‘last good Battlefield game’. Out of every Battlefield game, this World War 1 epic lands in third place, boasting gritty, hyper-realistic gameplay, and large, open environments.

4. Battlefield 3 (2011) – 89%

While Battlefield 3 has the same rating as both 1 and 1942, it has an ever-so-slightly lower user score. Battlefield 3 is regarded as having the best multiplayer in the history of the franchise, featuring timeless maps and balanced gameplay. It features environments that have been revisited numerous times in the last ten years, and it still has active servers today.

5. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010) – 88%

Out of every Battlefield game, the Bad Company sub-franchise is considered to have the greatest single-player story of all time. It’s humorous, immersive, and genuinely enjoyable, and according to the reviews, acted as a sweet spot for the franchise. While Bad Company 2 improved on a near-perfect formula, you’ll notice that the first game wasn’t far behind.

6. Battlefield 4 (2013) – 85%

Battlefield 4 is the closest comparison to Battlefield 2042 that actually succeeded. It had an engrossing story, fantastic multiplayer combat, and a packed development cycle full of fresh content that kept the game alive long after launch. It was the first ‘next-gen’ Battlefield, launching on the Xbox One and PS4 consoles, and it looked incredible.

7. Battlefield Vietnam (2004) – 84%

Every Battlefield game has been set in the near future or in World War 2 – except for Battlefield Vietnam. This one-of-a-kind title explored a fresh theatre of war, transitioning the franchise out of WWII and into the jungles of Vietnam. While a Vietname-based expansion existed for Bad Company, it was relatively short-lived.

8. Battlefield: Bad Company (2008) – 84%

Bad Company kickstarted a two-part sub-franchise, the sole example of such a thing happening in the history of every Battlefield game. While there are connections between Battlefield 4 and Battlefield 2042, they’re not in-depth enough to actually matter. Bad Company, on the other hand, offered a two-part story that fans absolutely loved.

9. Battlefield V (2018) – 81%

The last Battlefield title to release before 2042 was a World War II epic – something of a return to form for Battlefield. While it wasn’t highly rated by the fans, it was quite a good game regardless, boasting new features that existed only within Battlefield V. It was a case of not knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone, with many Battlefield fans returning to Battlefield V following the failure of 2042.

10. Battlefield 2142 (2006) – 80%

Bizarrely, the developers of the Battlefield franchise threw out a curveball just four years after the first release in the series. They transitioned from World War II to Vietnam, and then to the distant future, all within a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, 2142 wasn’t a great success, featuring somewhat strange mech-based combat, an age away from traditional Battlefield gameplay.

11. Battlefield Hardline (2015) – 73%

If you were a newcomer to the Battlefield franchise, you’d never know it was a ‘war game’ if Hardline was your introductory title. This one-off game featured a ‘cops and robbers’ setting, from the story to the somewhat unstable multiplayer. It was an extremely bizarre turn for the series, and almost every Battlefield game outside of it has received a higher rating.

12. Battlefield 2042 (2021) – 68%

Unfortunately, the last game in our ranking of Battlefield games is the worst-rated Battlefield game of all time. Battlefield 2042 suffered hugely at launch, being released in a broken state and immediately disappointing fans. It was an all-time low for the franchise, coming equipped with near-empty maps, no story, a limited arsenal of weapons, and a dizzying amount of bugs and glitches.

What do you think about these Battlefield game rankings?