This comes as the player count begins to hit all-time lows.

Prior to going on their holiday break, DICE added in a Battlefield 2042 Rush mode to Battlefield Portal. It proved to be a fairly popular mode, at least as far as Portal modes are concerned. It was the much enjoyed Rush mode but played out across the Battlefield 2042 maps, something that just isn't possible in the main game. DICE kept it up longer than most other modes and fans seemed to be pleased.

Unfortunately, with the holiday break now over, DICE has opted to remove the mode that many fans had hoped would become a permanent fixture within the game. Battlefield 2042 Rush was removed from Portal as part of the regular Thursday content cycle for Battlefield 2042.

Many fans are dismayed but it's not a complete loss. In its place is the addition of Battlefield Bad Company 2 Rush. It is possible we'll see Rush return some day to the 2042 maps, but that day is not today.

Also new to Portal today are the following featured modes:

• Battlefield 2042 Free for All
• Battlefield 2042 Gun Master (basically Gun Game)
• Battlefield 1942 Classic Conquest
• Battlefield 3 Conquest
• and the aforementioned Battlefield Bad Company 2 Rush

As far as player counts go, Steam continues to see a steady decline in daily players. The 24-hour peak was just above 12,200 players. The all-time peak for the game was around two months prior near the game's launch when it had over 105,000 players.

It also seems as though the player counts on other platforms are just as dire. Xbox users that have Xbox Live Gold subscriptions are saying they are currently able to download and play Battlefield 2042 without having purchased the game. It looks like the game is being included with a "Free Play Days" event. This free trial of Battlefield 2042 will run from January 6 through January 9 for all Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. However, I have not seen anything official about this.