What's the Deal with the Demo for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for the PC?

One of this year’s most critically acclaimed titles and financially successful titles is Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the modern military themed first-person shooter sequel from Dice and Electronic Arts was released in March 2010. With an 88% rating on Game Rankings and over five million copies sold across all the PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. Bad Company 2 features an exciting cinematic single-player campaign and a class-based multiplayer component. In online matches players can earn un-lockable gear and perks, achievements, drive vehicles, and destroy buildings while battling other teams and developing a persistent character.

Gamers interested in giving Battlefield Bad Company 2 a try are unfortunately out of luck. There’s currently no demo version available for the PC and no plans to release one for the PC, or any platform, have been announced or hinted. At least for now, anybody wanting to try out a Bad Company 2 demo for PC before they buy will have to find a way to play the full version of the game, such as on a friend’s computer or through some sort of promotion. Another option for trying Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is renting the console version for the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, or also trying it on a friend’s console, if trying it out on the PC platform isn’t a necessity.

There was a multiplayer Bad Company 2 beta for the PC earlier in the year that allowed players to try the game prior to its release date. But that is no longer available. The PC beta was available only to those who had pre-ordered Bad Company 2 through participating sellers and was only active for a limited time.

Likewise, there is no demo available for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of Battlefield Bad Company 2. There was a downloadable multiplayer demo out earlier in the year, prior to the release of the console versions, around the same time the PC beta test was out. However, that demo was also only around for a limited time and is no longer available.

Aside from finding a place to play Bad Company 2, players looking to try before they buy should keep their eyes on the news for any word on the possible release of a PC demo or watch for special promotional events on digital content distribution services. Those services, such as Steam, have been holding promotions like the Modern Warfare 2 free play weekend, where PC gamers can download and try 2010’s other hit modern military-themed FPS game for free during the promotional weekend. Otherwise, gamers interested in playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 for the PC but are unwilling to pay the full price for the game will have to wait for the price to drop to a point where they’re willing to spend the money on a product they haven’t tried.