In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the ‘B’ company fight their way through snowy mountaintops, dense jungles and dusty villages. With a heavy arsenal of deadly weapons and a slew of vehicles to aid them, the crew set off on their mission and they are ready to blow up, shoot down, blast through, wipe out and utterly destroy anything that gets in their way. Total destruction is the name of the game, delivered as only the DICE next generation Frostbite engine can. Either online or offline, enemies will soon learn there is nowhere to hide.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will deliver a level of destruction, vehicular warfare, squad play and open world environments never before experienced in a modern warfare action game. By pushing destruction to new heights and delivering a host of land, sea and air vehicles, players will soon witness the best-in-class online warfare experience.

Whether online or in the single player campaign, players use every weapon and vehicle to survive and conquer. Players choose from 15 authentically modeled vehicles, each providing a tactical advantage and offering a variety of gameplay options. The new UH-60 transport helicopter can ship an entire four-player squad directly into battle, while allowing two additional team members to wreak havoc with its two mounted rail guns on board.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 players will have a selection of 46 weapons that they can customize into over 200 different, high-powered firearms. There are over 15,000 kit variations possible in the game, giving each squad member the ability to choose the weapon upgrades and combat enhancements that best fits their playing style. Between the weapons, kit combinations and deadly vehicles, players will be equipped with a wide range of gadgets, accessories and character specializations to give them the edge in the heat of battle.

BETA Details:

• Beta Begins/Ends: Jan 28th - Feb 25th
• Map Name: Port Valdez
• Players: 32
• Game Mode: Rush
• Environment: Snow
• Theme: Vehicle and Infantry

The battle for Port Valdez is fought alongside the waterline towards a great oil industrial landscape in the Alaskan mountains. Using basically everything they've got the Russian forces are launching an airborne assault to knock out the oil industries in the area. In their arsenal there are Main Battle Tanks as well as fast-moving Quad Bikes and mobile armored AA. It's a vehicle focused battle, but with plenty of infantry combat.

Check back to the Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta Page closer to beta launch date for download instructions.

Reserve Battlefield Bad Company 2 is the most sure fire way and right now we are still finalizing which Retailers & e-Tailers will participate (it's up to them). If you're eager to ensure you get in confirmed distributors to Pre-Order consumers are the EA Store and at GameStop.com.  We'll have another Blog to update new retailers & e-Tailers that have teamed up with us as well as alternate channels to obtain a Closed Beta Key.

Misc. Details

• Steam Beta:  Yes there was a leaked image of a Package file we propped on Steam.  People with illegal accounts can see games in this environment, but this is not a Beta in the term of Public Test Beta, but a real development Beta installer client for the Steam version of the full game.  We are however working with Steam to have the Public PC Beta available on Steam, but can't confirm this quite yet so cross your fingers Steam users. :-)
• Anti Cheat:  We're going with PunkBuster supporting the same options BF2 and BF2142 had to run unranked without PunkBuster.
• Mod Tools: There will not be mod tools for BFBC2.  However a majority of the the games logic is controlled by the server and there will be Serverside control options for the dedicated servers.
• Public Server Files: We will not distribute these publicly.  There are many factors for why we have decided this with the biggest factor being security & integrity of our game & Dedicated Servers.

PC Enhanced Features

• Up to 32 Players on PC (24 on consoles) - Play with up to 32 players online in the biggest multiplayer Maps in Battlefield. Each with a different tactical and gameplay focus set across a variety of environments.
• Full DirectX 9, 10 & 11 Support - Immerse yourself in the Battlefield world as Frostbite engine brings tanks, planes, and explosions to vivid life on your PC. The game will fully support Windows XP, Vista, and 7 with new tech that further improves things like lighting and shadows.
• Enhanced Gameplay - The PC version also includes wide peripheral support like Joysticks for flying, NVDIA 3D Vision, Logitech LCD Keyboards and VoIP Support plus a variety of specific features tailored for PC play.
• Friend Support - Find your friends online with the new buddy list to see if and who is online so you can quickly join their game.
• Dedicated Ranked Server - Everyone gets non-stop action with no connection penalties based on some other player's internet. Ranked Server Provider program will give players opportunity to rent their own server(s) located in professional grade datacenters, ability to modify settings like map rotation, create reserved slots for friends or clan members, kick & Ban players, and custom name your ranked server.
• Clan Support & Private Servers - Independent Clan Tag, and ability to rent servers for hosting and controlling private password protected competitive servers with expanded control over the settings from public ranked servers.
• PC Squad Play System - Updated from previous Battlefield PC titles now gives control of your squad before heading into combat.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 brings the spectacular Battlefield gameplay to the forefront of next-gen consoles and PC - featuring best-in-class vehicular combat set across 8 huge sandbox maps each with a different tactical focus.

New vehicles like the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and the UH-60 transport helicopter allow for all-new multiplayer tactics in the warzone, extensive tuning ensures that this will be the most satisfying vehicle combat experience to date.

Tactical destruction is taken to new heights with the updated DICE ‘Frostbite’ engine. Players can now take down entire buildings or create their own fire points by blasting holes through cover, thereby delivering a unique experience in every match

Players can also compete in 4-player teams in 2 exclusive squad-only game modes, fighting together to unlock exclusive team awards and achievements. Spawn on your squad to get straight into the action, and use gadgets such as the tracer dart in-conjunction with the RPG to devastating effect.

Excellence in the battlefield is rewarded with an extensive range of pins, insignias and stars to unlock along with 50 dedicated ranks to achieve

Variety also extends into the range of customizable kits weapons and vehiceles available. With 4 distinct character classes, 46 weapons, 15 gadgets, 13 character specializations and over 15000 kit variations to discover and master players will be able to fine-tune their preferred fighting style to give them the edge in combat.

Multiplayer Features

• 8 Huge Multiplayer Maps. Each with a different tactical and gameplay focus and set across a variety of environments
• Ultimate Online Vehicle Warfare! 15 land, sea and air vehicles, each with a tactical advantage during play. Race into action with the ATV or rain death from above in the UH-60 transport helicopter with its 2 side-mounted rail guns
• All-new Squad Gameplay. Team up with 3 other players and fight together to unlock special awards and achievements in 2 squad-specific game modes
• Destruction 2.0. Take down entire buildings, create firepoints in cover or blow it up entirely! In Battlefield Bad Company 2™ there will be no place to hide!
• ‘Play It Your Way’ experiment and refine your ideal combat style with 4 character classes (medic, assault, recon and engineer), 15000+ kit variations, 46 weapons (200 different customization opportunities), 15 gadgets and 13 character specializations.
• Awards and Achievements, combat efficiency and performance is rewarded with special awards such pins, stars and insignias which contribute to unlocking 50 ranks