Last week, Electronic Arts and Battlefield Studios held a big Battlefield 6 multiplayer reveal event in Los Angeles. While there, I got to go hands-on with the online military shooter for a few hours and learned a lot about the game. And since then, EA has done interviews and shared more information about the highly anticipated sequel, which is set to arrive in a few months. There’s also a big open beta launching later this week that will go for a few weekends.
So yeah, there’s a lot of Battlefield 6 information flying around out there. To help you out, I’ve grabbed seven pieces of info and cataloged them here for your convenience. All I ask in return is that if you see me on the battlefield, don’t snipe me right away. Please? Anyway, here are seven new pieces of info we’ve learned about Battlefield 6 over the last few days.
When does the Battlefield 6 open beta start?
EA has split the Battlefield 6 open beta into three sessions. The first starts on Thursday, August 7, and runs until August 9. But you’ll need an early access code to play during this first window. Does that mean this is no longer an “open” beta? I’d say so, but whatever. Then, from August 9 until August 10, anyone who has downloaded the Battlefield 6 open beta can start playing, with or without a code. The beta will wrap up early that Monday and then go live again on Thursday, August 14. This third session is also completely open and will end in the early morning hours on August 17. The BF6 beta will be available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S and can be pre-loaded now.
Here’s a full schedule courtesy of EA and Battlefield Studios:
-
Battlefield 6 early access beta
- From Thursday, Aug. 7 @ 1am PDT / 4am EDT / 9am BST to Saturday, Aug. 9 @ 1am PDT / 4am EDT / 9am BST
-
BF6 Open beta – first weekend
- From Saturday, Aug. 9 @ 1am PDT / 4am EDT / 9am BST to Monday, Aug. 10 @ 1am PDT / 4am EDT / 9am BST
-
BF6 Open beta – second (final) weekend
-
From Thursday, Aug.14 @ 1am PDT / 4am EDT / 9am BST to Sunday, Aug. 17 @ 1am PDT / 4am EDT / 9am BST
-
Battlefield 6 will feature bots to help fill servers
Battlefield Studios and EA have confirmed that matches in Battlefield 6 can include bots if there aren’t enough active players in the server. These bots will be replaced as more players join and will only return if people leave early. Battlefield 6 development director Anna Narrevik explained in a recent interview that they have designed the game to “allow as many players as possible to play the game at the same time.” But when there are gaps, the bots will show up to help out.
I actually played against some bots during the Battlefield 6 reveal event’s afterparty. They were pretty stupid, but could revive people and take points, so they weren’t completely worthless, and having them around did make the battle feel more alive and larger in scale. I’ll be curious to see how often I run into bots when playing certain modes in the game once it’s out.
The game will use some skill-based matchmaking
Yes, BF6 will partially use skill-based matchmaking to place players into different servers and matches. But, before you grab a pitchfork and riot or throw a party in celebration, EA wants people to know that a player’s skill is just one of many variables used during BF6‘s matchmaking process. During a Q&A at the event, as further reported by CharlieIntel, Battlefield 6‘s devs confirmed that numerous factors play a role in matchmaking. These include a player’s ping, location, what servers are available at that moment, and yes, skill factor.
You might not think much about that, but for some players, skill-based matchmaking has become a dirty word, as they believe it makes shooters less fun as you are always matched up with people as good or better than you. Others think it keeps things balanced and more enjoyable. To me, it sounds like EA isn’t going to keep experts playing experts exclusively, but instead will try to keep teams balanced, something the series has done for a long time. So, until Battlefield 6 is out, I think people can chill.
There won’t be a traditional server browser in Battlefield 6
EA has confirmed that when Battlefield 6 launches, it won’t include a traditional server browser. This is a feature that has been included in most Battlefield games and lets players search for specific servers running maps or modes they want to play while avoiding the stuff they don’t like. Server browsers can also run specific rules and use moderators to control griefing while developing a community around them.
Instead, Battlefield 6‘s server browser will be included in Portal, a part of the game that will operate like Forge in Halo and let players make their own experiences, maps, and game modes. So it sounds like you’ll only be able to access community-created modes and experiences using this server browser and not official EA servers running vanilla maps and games. Alexia Christofi, a producer on BF6, tweeted about the server browser after the reveal event, saying that community-created modes can “award full XP” and confirming that the browser “will be front and center in our main menu, not hidden.” It’ll feature a filter, too. The question is how persistent servers will be and whether more traditional BF experiences will be a part of it, or if folks looking to play conquest have to rely solely on matchmaking. EA says more info is coming soon. Hopefully, that will clear things up.
Battlefield 6 on PC will require Secure Boot
Battlefield Studios has also confirmed that its upcoming military shooter will require Secure Boot on PC. This is a newer way to try and stop cheaters from playing the game and malicious software from booting on your Windows 10 or 11 PC. While Secure Boot can be effective at stopping cheaters and bad actors, it can also cause a lot of headaches for users who have to upgrade older machines to support the feature. It is also prone to failure or causing other PC problems, something you can spot in Reddit threads with people asking for help getting the open beta launcher to load on their Windows PC.
“Requiring Secure Boot provides us with features that we can leverage against cheats that attempt to infiltrate during the Windows boot process,” said EA in a blog about requiring the feature. “It also lets the Battlefield Positive Play team use its own features and related dependent security features like TPM to combat other forms of cheating, the most relevant of which include: kernel-level cheats and toolkits, memory manipulation, spoofing, hardware ID manipulation, virtual machines…” and other anti-cheat tools. While that’s all very true, its presence may still be a dealbreaker for some. And the worst part is that cheaters can still bypass Secure Boot. This won’t be a feature on consoles, which are closed systems with tighter platform control.
All the maps that will be available in Battlefield 6 at launch
During the big reveal event, EA listed all nine maps that will be available in Battlefield 6 when it launches later this year. Here’s the list:
- Siege of Cairo
- Iberian Offensive
- Liberation Peak
- Empire State
- Operation Firestorm
- Saints Quarter
- New Sobek City
- Mirak Valley
- Manhattan Bridge
And yes, Operation Firestorm is a returning classic from Battlefield 3. EA has confirmed that it will bring back more classic maps in the future based on player feedback and requests. Also, EA confirmed that all modes are playable on all maps, as every level in BF6 can scale up or down to better fit the selected mode. So if you play deathmatch on Empire State—a map set in NYC—you’ll play in a smaller section of the map designed for that mode. But if you return to the NYC-based map later and play conquest, you’ll get to explore the whole thing as it will be opened up more for modes that demand more real estate. So in a sense, you really have more than nine maps in BF6. What a deal!
When does Battlefield 6 launch? How much is it? And what platforms?
During last week’s Battlefield 6 multiplayer reveal, EA and Battlefield Studios confirmed the launch date for the game, as well price and platforms. Battlefield 6 will arrive on October 10. There is no paid early access window. The game will cost $70, though you can buy a fancier version for $100. And BF6 will be available on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.
