Free Bad Company 2 DLC dated

By Robert Purchese Published 11 March, 2010

DICE hoping to avoid "mapathy".

DICE has revealed more of the "extensive" DLC planned for Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Due 30th March are two new maps, Arica Harbor and Laguna Presa. More importantly, they're free to anyone who redeemed a VIP code inside a first-hand copy of BFBC2.

Arica Harbor, playable in Conquest mode, follows a US strike on a Russian base. Laguna Persa, playable in Rush mode, presents a South American valley and within it a Dam, which the US forces must protect.

"VIP members will be able to expand on the deep and ever changing sandbox experience, which in itself provides near endless hours of entertainment, by having new content to keep things fresh.

"It also plays a vital part in making sure you, the players get proper value for the money you've invested in Battlefield: Bad Company 2," wrote executive producer KM Troedsson on the Battlefield blog.

"This is why these map packs are available at no extra cost, contradicting the industry standard and what our direct competitors are doing. Of course, it also helps avoid segmenting the community, making sure everyone can play together having the same maps available.

"There will be future paid downloadable content as well but these packs will focus on expanding other parts of the game experience rather than the selection of maps available for the basic game modes. We're dedicated to taking care of this product for a long time - helping you avoid 'mapathy' without getting nickel-and-dimed," he added, in a thinly veiled reference to Infinity Ward's DLC plans for Modern Warfare 2, which are being promoted with a jokey Mapathy website. IW plans to release its "Stimulus Package" for MW2 on 30th March as well.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (49) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Skurmedel #1 2 years ago

    So I bought the game, therefore I'm VIP? :) Where is my limo with hookers and brown sugar then!

  • darleysam #2 2 years ago

    EA obviously ordered extra burnsauce today, they seem to be on a roll.

  • RobotRocker #3 2 years ago

    Countdown to BFBC2 and MW2 fanboys flinging shit at each other in 3...2...1...

  • TafKas #4 2 years ago

    Shame the in game store does not work for me on the PS3, I redeemed my VIP code on launch day and still cant get the freebies that came with it.

  • davex5647 #5 2 years ago

    Umm, pretty sure these aren't new maps, they are existing maps included with the game altered to support Rush/Conquest.

  • chanandler #6 2 years ago

    I still can't access the frickin store through my PS3!!!!!!!!!

  • BigJonno #7 2 years ago

    I love this "New EA." I know they're still after our hard-earned cash like everyone else, but it's nice to see a company realising that you can get that by treating your customers well. The fact that Activision are continuously annoying people and EA are taking advantage of them stealing their old "Bad Guy" title is priceless.

  • chessboxer #8 2 years ago

    Arica Harbor is available without having to use the VIP code. Nelson Bay is unlocked with the code.

  • onezeonx #9 2 years ago

    Awesome game......just need to get the store to actually work and online not going down every day!!

    Love it tho!

  • TafKas #10 2 years ago

    New maps or not, I cant access them because of the damn store issues! I still love the game much though.

  • Shikasama #11 2 years ago

    So we get these maps for free to avoid player seperation and to get our value for money, but will have to pay for the future maps.

    Am I to assume the future maps then are not value for money and are designed to seperate players between haves and have nots?

  • sneetch #12 2 years ago

    I got it on Steam and entered the code and the promo code (for the weapon and vehicle unlocks) but there was no specific "ten dollar" code, I presume I'm still a "VIP"?

  • schnide #13 2 years ago

    Shikasama - "gift horse," "mouth"

  • Shikasama #14 2 years ago

    Schnide - What gift horse? This has nothing to do with altruism. They did this because EA told them to in order to curb second hand sales. Now they act like they are doing us a great favour by giving us this 'free' content that we have already paid for. In the very same release they talk about wanting to avoid players being segregated they tell us that the next map pack will cost us money.

    Next time I'll be more 'OH THANK YOU GREAT AND MIGHTY CORPORATE ENTITY FOR DEIGNING TO BLESS US WITH THINGS ULTIMATELY DESIGN TO ERODE OUR CONSUMER RIGHTS IN THE FACE OF BIGGER PUBLISHER MARGINS! I OFFER UNTO YOU MY BLANK CHEQUE BOOK AND WARM BUTTOCKS FOR USE AT YOUR PLEASURE! MAY THOU REIGN FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS, GREAT OVERLORD OF MY BRAND LOYALTY!'

  • lordofthedunce #15 2 years ago

    lol

  • darleysam #16 2 years ago

    Shik, just call them '£A' and save yourself the high blood pressure.

  • Razzajazz #17 2 years ago

    @ Shikasama

    Did you not read the part that said, and I quote: "There will be future paid downloadable content as well but these packs will focus on expanding other parts of the game experience rather than the selection of maps available for the basic game modes."

    Now I'm not going to say that I outright believe them, but that statement seems to indicate that they won't be charging for actual maps. So, as darleysam said, just breathe into that brown paper bag, and calm down....

  • geeza2020 #18 2 years ago

    Shik - calm down dear, they're only maps....
    Edited by 1 at 11/03/10 @ 15:45

  • Skurmedel #19 2 years ago

    I think what they want to avoid is the expansion fiasco of BF2 as well. Where all the useless expansions fragmented the player base. They certainly got some badwill there, not to mention that some of the expansions were horrendous. I bought the special forces pack and we found a glitch on day one where you could get inside buildings and grief people. I don't think they ever fixed that. I think they were developed by another studio though, in America or something.
    Edited by 1 at 11/03/10 @ 15:49

  • ChaK #20 2 years ago

    wait they replaced crates with flags (and vice-versa) and act like hero "yay it's free"?

    must have taken'em a day at max...

  • bodypopper #21 2 years ago

    Seeing as I can barely get a game in on the 360 without being disconnected from EA's servers before it finishes I'd wish they'd fix that for free too.
    Edited by 1 at 11/03/10 @ 16:01

  • rudedudejude #22 2 years ago

    So if you've paid extra for the VIP edition you get the maps?

    Ummmm so not really free then is it as you've already paid extra for the game?

  • geeza2020 #23 2 years ago

    as it appears to be the norm for everyone who reads my comments these days, im going to neg everyone in here for no apparent reason. mwuhahahahahhahaaa!!!

  • Clive_Dunn #24 2 years ago

    I'd love to get mapathy, however I've got the PC version and even getting into a map seems to be virtually impossible.

    Crap PC "map-lemention" ?

  • Pinky_Floyd #25 2 years ago

    2 new maps my arse. Where is the cynical Eurogamer of old?

  • KRadiation #26 2 years ago

    Maybe there wouldn't be any 'Mapathy' if these extras had already been availible on day 1 and they gave us something new as DLC rather than maps held back. for example BF Bad company 1 map pack and other maps from previous games like 1943's wake island.

  • darleysam #27 2 years ago

    'pay extra for the VIP edition'?

    Bzzt! Try again. Every new copy is the 'VIP edition', because you get a code in the box that gives you access to these updates. It's to try and add incentive to buying a new copy rather than saving £3 and buying used, the difference of which is that of money going to EA and DICE (the people making and publishing the game) or money not going to them.

    Oh but sure, nickels and dimes, big corporations ripping us off, wave your middle fingers at 'the man' and strike a blow against corporate fascism.

  • SlapLaB #28 2 years ago


    all this (limited edition, "VIP" codes, DLC-for-"free"-but-already-existing-maps...) seems very convoluted though...
    why can't we simply pay 40 quid and have a game that works with all the modes and maps that are on the disc?

  • ronuds #29 2 years ago

    What's this "VIP" stuff all about? I got the LE edition of BC2 (didn't everybody?) and entered a code for free unlocks. But does that make me a VIP?

    I'd better be an effing VIP, damn it! :p

  • darleysam #30 2 years ago

    Because at the moment, in the States (but thankfully not as bad here) it's basically impossible to walk into Gamestop (think GAME) and buy a brand new copy of a game (brackets). The stores don't make much money off new sales, but make far more off pre-owned. So rather than fill their shelves up with new copies to sell, they only take the guaranteed sale of pre-orders, or stock used copies which brings in money exclusively for them. This is screwing over the developers and publishers, since a used copy can easily be sold and bought back a bunch of times, each one a lost sale and lost profit for the people who put in the work. By putting a code like this in the box and charging $10 to access it without the code, it encourages people to buy the new copy and help the devs, rather than save $2 and buy a used copy instead.

  • Emth #31 2 years ago

    @ SlapLaB

    It's quite clearly an attempt to dissuade people from buying pre owned copies. Although how much of a difference it will really make remains to be seen.

  • SlapLaB #32 2 years ago

    I know that argument...
    however I think it's mainly true for single-player games, especially bad ones...
    if a game is good and it has multiplayer (like BFBC2) then I would want to keep it, not resell it
    it's true that in game shops there are shelves and shelves of used copies, but mainly crappy games, or outdated ones like PES 2008 (which I once saw for 0.98p...)
    I bet you won't see many used copies of BFBC2 lying around, even in a few of months...

  • darleysam #33 2 years ago

    Have you been in GAME lately? Just last weekend I saw a used copy of ODST sitting opposite a new, with about £3 the difference. The price they charge for used games is sickening, especially considering how much they don't give you to trade something in.

  • SlapLaB #34 2 years ago

    yeah, true...
    I'm not 100% against it, I just think that the whole thing is a bit complicated, and it leaves the publisher open to the store issues they're experiencing now
    if you're confident you're making a good game you'll get the new sales anyway as the 2nd hand market will be small

    as for GAME overcharging, well that's one of the reasons why they're closing shops isn't it...

  • darleysam #35 2 years ago

    I agree, it's not a simple situation by any means, but I think the people railing against this as being 'nickel and dimed' by EA, they've got completely the wrong end of a very different stick altogether.

  • cyber_nicco #36 2 years ago

    What's the point. I've only ever played on the same two maps, anyway. What's up with that? Is it somehow my fault?

  • cyber_nicco #37 2 years ago

    "Because at the moment, in the States (but thankfully not as bad here) it's basically impossible to walk into Gamestop (think GAME) and buy a brand new copy of a game (brackets). The stores don't make much money off new sales, but make far more off pre-owned. So rather than fill their shelves up with new copies to sell, they only take the guaranteed sale of pre-orders, or stock used copies which brings in money exclusively for them."

    That's a huge crock of non-reality. Gamestop, while pissing me off with their used-games shenanigans, almost always has new copies of recent games for sale, and often has copies of older games, as well. I live in San Francisco, and maybe it's different in some little backwater berg, but I've just not seen any evidence of what darleysam said.
    Edited by 1 at 11/03/10 @ 18:20

  • VibratingDonkey #38 2 years ago

    I hope he puts his money where his mouth is. I view these map conversions as completing an incomplete game. Modern Warfare 2 has 16(?) maps. Bad Company 2 features eight maps with only five playable in each (main) mode. So criticizing MW2 for "mapathy" is kind of unearned at this point.

    There's four conversions of two maps to go after this update and I expect them to be free. Haven't bothered trying Conquest as DICE messed it up by putting more emphasis on kills than capturing points. And a mere five maps for Rush feels really sparse. That's two more maps than BF1943 (Coral Sea doesn't count).

    What is interesting about his statement though is that it sounds like the free map updates may continue after they're done with the conversions. That'd be most welcome.

    Also interesting to hear that they might be working on this co-op update that has been mildly hinted at.

  • Syrette #39 2 years ago

    Are people really praising EA for this?

    Why exactly couldn't they release these maps on both modes in the first place?

    Really rather EA/DICE didn't sugarcoat this as anything other than a money-orientated gesture, of no benefit to the consumer at least at the moment.

    "It also plays a vital part in making sure you, the players get proper value for the money you've invested in Battlefield: Bad Company 2"

    Proper value for money would have been giving me access to this stuff from day one instead of cutting it and then using it later on to make the player think they're getting a good deal from this VIP stuff.

  • AphoticCosmos #40 2 years ago

    More maps can only be a good thing! Some of the maps are simply brilliant. Atacama Desert is sublimely fun!

  • Ravenger #41 2 years ago

    More maps for free = nice! Sega/Rebellion could learn from this: don't fragment your userbase by charging for multiplayer maps.

    On the subject of high street stores and second hand game pushing, there's a reason that major game stores don't stock much in the way of PC games anymore, and that's because they can't sell them second hand due to CD Keys and DRM.

    PC copies of Bad Company 2 don't need a VIP code - they get all the new content anyway because the multiplayer is locked to your EA account and can't be transferred to a new owner.

  • coolbritannia #42 2 years ago

    i'd like to give some of you whining nancies a slap. BC2 owns your soul. love it, embrace it as a lover.

  • Seabeast #43 2 years ago

    I got this today, single player is fantasitc ( Havent tried online yet) and well worth the purchase.

    Just for those who are confused, the VIP code comes free inside the normal edition of the game.

  • KRadiation #44 2 years ago

    It seems the employees of Dice are on here hitting everyone with negatives ratings if they've said anything negative about the maps. It has to be employee's because it makes no sense for joe public to get so upset they feel the pathetic need to hit the minus rate button on them all.

  • TheJuriel #45 2 years ago

    As long as they also keep latter maps free to VIPs, I'm cool with this approach.

  • Johnhost #46 2 years ago

    I....love...this...company!

  • SwitchBladeUK #47 2 years ago

    What about people who pre-ordered Bad Company 2 on Steam? Like me.. :/

  • jambo74 #48 2 years ago

    Oh how Codemasters must be green with envy. OFDR could have been this game but alas...

  • Golgo #49 2 years ago

    These aren't new maps, then. These are existing maps being used for different game types.