Battlefield Studios—which includes DICE, Criterion, Motive, and Ripple Effect—is working on the next entry to EA’s military shooter series, Battlefield 6. It’s been a few years since Battlefield 2042’s ugly start, and even though the much maligned near-future Battlefield turned things around, the time for 2042 updates is no more.
BF6 is on the way with both singleplayer and multiplayer modes, and EA swears it’s going “all in” this time around after the last launch and subsequent overhaul. With so many hands on deck, the military FPS is shaping up to be a big one, so we’re chronicling the livestreams, dev blogs, and everything else we know about BF6 here.
When is the Battlefield 6 release date?
Battlefield 6 is scheduled to release on October 10, 2025. Before launch, EA is hosting a series of beta tests throughout August for Battlefield Labs members and anyone else ready to hop in early.
EA also confirmed Battlefield 6 will cost $70 for its standard edition, dispelling fears of the dreaded bump to $80. Of course there’s the usual premium bundle (Battlefield 6: Phantom Edition), but it’s kind of nice to see no annoying early access caveats or beta tests locked behind an extra pre-order or upgrade.
When is the Battlefield 6 beta?
The first Battlefield 6 open beta begins August 7, with plans for three test periods throughout the month. Its initial trial is only for EA’s limited-registration playtest community, Battlefield Labs, but everyone else can join in starting August 9.
Battlefield 6 beta dates
- August 7-8 (Battlefield Labs members only)
- August 9-10 (Everyone)
- August 14-17 (Everyone)
Battlefield 6 trailers and gameplay footage
Watch On
The Battlefield 6 reveal trailer promises yet another modern war shooter campaign, opening with its fictional United States president addressing an attack from the private military company Pax Armata. As sworn enemies of NATO, the company rushes to fill a power vacuum left behind in a world destabilized by conflict. It’s the usual mankind seeking an apocalyptic means to an end stuff featuring guns, bombs, and guys armed to the teeth.
A week after EA revealed Battlefield 6, it followed up with a multiplayer gameplay livestream—the part everyone really comes to Battlefield for—highlighting an absurd number of helicopter explosions, military dudes going wild with the defib, and tanks you can hitch a ride on. Some of that footage is also spliced out for shorter segments, like in the Battlefield 6 maps, modes, and portal clip on YouTube.
But the real treat through it all? Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff. I’m not sure if I’m being sarcastic or not, but we’re going back to the old days in more ways than one.
Battlefield 6 gameplay and features
Thanks to EA’s multiple livestreams, blog posts, and open beta plans, there’s already quite a bit out there about how Battlefield 6 will play in October. We’ll keep the updates coming as the launch countdown continues, but so far we know BF6 includes:
- 9 maps at launch, including a remake of BF3’s Operation Firestorm
- We’re back to the standard 64-player lobbies
- There’s a singleplayer campaign this time around
- No Specialists, just regular old classes: Recon, Assault, Engineer, and Support.
- After fan feedback, EA is also adding a playlist with class restrictions on guns
- Battlefield Portal’s custom game modes are back, and the new, more advanced tools make it look more like Halo Forge
- Seems the battle royale rumors are true as EA teased the return of Battlefield 5’s Firestorm mode
We’ve played Battlefield 6, and it’s ordinary in the best ways
Ahead of EA’s big multiplayer livestream, PC Gamer’s Morgan Park spent four hours playing the return-to-form military shooter for his Battlefield 6 preview. It’s quite good, and it seems the next game takes the right lessons from 2042’s failures as it shapes up to be “the ordinary FPS we need so badly.”
It’s a bit of hope for Battlefield after a years-long identity crisis, opting to pare down the ridiculous scale we saw before in both map size and player lobbies. Even tac sprint is gone, slowing down movement to match the new pace. That—plus the instant feedback added for vaulting and climbing, along with suspected hitscan changes—make up a series of little tweaks and refinements better highlighted by a more focused, classic Battlefield.
Battlefield 6 system requirements
The Battlefield 6 Steam page is live with its system requirements and includes some good news: The Steam version won’t make you launch the EA app. As for its recommended specs, those seem fairly reasonable too.
Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400, AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 55 GB available space
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7-10700, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia RTX 3060Ti, AMD Radeon RX 6700-XT
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 80 GB available space