The “unable to load persistence data” error in Battlefield 2042

March 7, 2024

If you’ve played Battlefield 2042, you’ve likely run into the dreaded unable to load persistence data error at some point. If you’re playing on a single platform (i.e, you’re an Xbox-only player), it likely has resolved itself after either dashboarding the game or restarting the system. However, if you’re playing across multiple platforms, you probably haven’t been so lucky.

Some back-story

I recently got a PS5 and since I have an EA Play subscription, I figured I’d download Battlefield 2042 on it and play there when I was already using the PS5 and not have to switch back to the Xbox.

The first time I launched the game, everything worked exactly as it should and I was able to play a few rounds without any problems. The problems started when I switched to the Xbox the next day.

The problem

Back on the Xbox, everything started out like it would normally. I was able to join the pre-game lobby and start searching for a game without issue. After a minute or so, the unable to load persistence data error would pop up. Dashboarding and restarting the game didn’t help, and neither did restarting the Xbox. After trying a few times, I did some googling in the hopes of finding an answer, but almost every result was PC-related and didn’t apply to me.

The (half-assed) solution

On a whim, I decided to delete all of my local data on the Xbox for 2042. I restarted the Xbox and 2042, and was greeted with some setup screens because I deleted my previous settings and data. I went through the setup and was back in a pre-game lobby. From there I tried joining a game, and boom, it worked. I was able to play on the Xbox again.

Good news right? Well, sorta. When I tried playing on the PS5 again, I ran into the same error. Deleting the save data for the game on the local storage AND the save data in the Playstation Network cloud fixed it there.

So now what?

Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a way to play cross-console (unsure about PC since I don’t have one to play on) without having to delete the save data and reconfigure all of the settings. Doing that does work, but it’s a giant pain in the ass and probably not worth switching back and forth between the two platforms regularly.

My advice? Choose one of the consoles and only play the game there unless you want to get caught up having to delete save data whenever you try to switch.

Hopefully this helps you if you’re running into this error. See you on the Battlefield!