Battlefield 6has to get it right. General sentiment surrounding the long-time first-person shooter franchise has been at an all-time low since the release ofBattlefield 2042. When I attended the livestream of theBattlefield 6multiplayer reveal, whereI also played roughly seven hours ofBF6, it was clear that publisher Electronic Arts is hoping to get this flagship series back on track. The whole event had a phenomenal amount of technology and labor behind it, and with hundreds of press and content creators flown out for the big day, I have to imagine a massive marketing budget has been set aside for the game.
As we approachBattlefield 6’s release date, twoopen beta weekendswill let the public try the game, and I suspect people will have the same reaction I did:Battlefieldis back. But long beforeBF6was anywhere near a playable state,development had to start somewhere on the heels of2042. And that’s exactly where I started my conversation with Ripple Effect senior producer Ryan McArthur and Motive director of production Alma Talbot.
Making Battlefield New Again By Re-Embracing The Classics
A Spiritual Successor To BF3 & BF4
Without verbally throwing2042under the proverbial bus, Battlefield Studios – the collective moniker for DICE, Motive, Ripple Effect, and Criterion – has been very clear thatBattlefield 6is an attempted return to form. Multiple times it was iterated to me thatBF6is a spiritual successor toBattlefield 3andBattlefield 4, not just in its modern setting. Classes are back, and destruction is deeper than ever, but how do you go about designing a newBattlefieldafter the last one was a relative failure?
As it turns out, Battlefied Studios turned to you, the players. “It is going back to look at what made us successful, what players loved –where has the franchise been at its peak?” said McArthur. “You look at BF3 and 4, you look at games like Bad Company and Bad Company 2, and it’s easy to identify: BF3 and 4 class gameplay was awesome; destruction in Bad Company 2 was fantastic.”
He specifically highlighted “the gunplay and the movement and the combat” being “really strong” in those games, and thatbeginning the work onBattlefield 6involved being willing to “go back to the beginning.“Battlefield Studios reevaluated the series' strengths, and forBF6tried to hone in on “that core Battlefield DNA.” Arguably the most transformative piece of that foundation is the class system.
2042abandoned the classes that were a defining trait of the series' previous installments;Battlefield 6brings them back. In fact,BF6’s four classes – Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon – are the same ones featured inBF4.Battlefield 6is, in and of itself, an admission that2042introduced some “challenges and missteps,“as McArthur puts it.
Battlefield 6 Is The Destruction Revamp You’ve Been Waiting For
The Most Destructible BF Ever
While the reintroduction of classes was key to recapturing theBattlefieldteamplay of old, Battlefield Studios went even further back when designingBF6’s new destruction systems. For years,fans have consistently asked for destructionto make a big comeback, since it gradually went by the wayside through every installment followingBad Company 2.“Destruction in general is one of the core pillars of the whole franchise,“said Talbot.
This seems to have been a key point of emphasis in the early stages ofBattlefield 6’s design. “Tactical destruction is something that we knew going into Battlefield 6 we really wanted to shine,” she said. “We knew this was something that our players wanted, and we needed to get it right and bring it to the next level and really push the envelope and have it be world-class.”
Battlefield 6’s trailers are, of course, embellished to sell the illusion, but I can confirm that destruction truly is a major component of gameplay. Talbot mentioned thatthe developers strove to let players “use destruction tactically,“and not just include it for the sake of blowing things up. “We wanted it to be reliable so that players can leverage it in a way and use it strategically with the gunplay, with their classes, to play with their squad.” Part of that reliability is making sure that destroying buildings is a skill that can be mastered.
Blast enough holes in the same building with the same weapon, and you’ll eventually “kind of know what to expect.” Differing animations will hopefully keep some visual pizzazz, butthe idea is to have the actual act of destruction be consistent so that players can master it, and thus use it to their advantage. It’s refreshing to see an entire building collapse, like they did inBad Company 2– another clear attempt at righting the ship after2042’s rigid structures.
Battlefield 6 Wants To Be A Game For Everyone
Multiplayer, Campaign, & More
Every developer wants players to enjoy their game, but theBattlefield Labsinitiative provesBF6has been a concerted effort to make an entry to the series that long-time fans will be interested in. The “core modes,” according to Talbot, are the three held under the All-Out Warfare umbrella: Conquest, Breakthrough, and Rush. “People who are fans of the franchise for a long time,” she said,“that’s what they’re here for.”
McArthur calls Conquest “the heart and soul of All-Out Warfare.” The reason it has remained virtually unchanged for so long, and has become a guiding light forBattlefield 6’s development, is simple:“Players love it.“But while Conquest is theheart and soul ofBattlefield, it’s also just the jumping off point. IfBF6is the first game in the series you’ve played, “You’re probably going to go play Conquest,” McArthur says, “because that’s what you’ve heard players talk about.”
Then there are the multiplayer modes that aren’t in the All-Out Warfare category: Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, Domination, Payload, King of the Hill, and Escalation. On top of that,Battlefield 6brings back Portal, where players can manipulate the environment and NPC behavior to make custom games. And we’re still waiting for more information about the battle royale component.
To top it all off,Battlefield 6is bringing back the series' long-dormant single-player campaign. I asked about the decision to use a private military company as the main antagonist group, and while Talbot explained that it came from wanting to tell a “grounded” story and trying to make its 2027-set narrative “feel real,” there’s a much simpler reason this tapestry of a collapsed NATO and mysteriously funded PMC was woven.
“It’s entertainment – we want our players to have fun,“said Talbot. “We want our players to experience something that feels core in the Battlefield DNA.” It’s the same “what if” conjecture thatBattlefield 3and4hinged their campaigns on. Another return toBattlefield’s peak. From top to bottom,Battlefield 6is a huge swing to bring the beloved series back into the limelight, and EA is going all in on its many different modes to make sure players are happy this time around.
