Battlefield 6 - Modern Setting, Battle Royale, Major Changes, And Everything Else We Know

2021's Battlefield 2042 was a disappointment in the eyes of some longtime Battlefield fans, but the developers at DICE have said they took the feedback on board to help make the next game better. Recently, the first key details on the next Battlefield game emerged, and for now at least, the developers seem to be saying all the right things to help people believe the next game could be a return to form.

Only time will tell if the team delivers, of course, but fans are already buzzing with excitement on the news that the new Battlefield will seemingly emulate older titles and do away with some of the things that Battlefield 2042 did. Most importantly, the new Battlefield game will not have 128-player matches or Specialist characters--two highly criticized elements of Battlefield 2042.

The game is set in the modern day, and that's also a welcome change for fans and a change of pace from the latest games that took place in the future and the past. It also sounds like the new Battlefield game could have a battle-royale element, too. At least four studios are handling development on the new Battlefield game, which doesn't have an official title as of yet.

Following the first official information being released this week at an EA event, we're rounding up all the key information to know about the next Battlefield game.

When will the new Battlefield be released?

EA has not confirmed a release date for the next Battlefield, but a report said it could launch as soon as October 2025. That timeline appears to be reasonable, as there was a three-year gap between the last two games, Battlefield V (2018) and Battlefield 2042 (2021). The new Battlefield game is already being playtested almost daily, EA said, and some kind of community test program for the new game will launch in early 2025. If EA is already almost ready to put the new Battlefield game into the hands of the public, it would seemingly be pretty far along.

Preorder the new Battlefield

The new Battlefield game is not yet available for preorder. Fans should be highly skeptical about any website or store claiming to take preorders for the game.

New Battlefield trailer information

There is no trailer yet for the next Battlefield game. However, the first concept art was released in mid-September, showing a chaotic scene featuring all manner of large-scale combat in keeping with Battlefield's tradition.

New Battlefield platforms

Platforms for the next Battlefield game have not been confirmed, but fans can likely expect the game to release on PC, as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Nintendo is cooking up a new console, presumably the Switch 2, but it's too soon to say if the next Battlefield will show up on this platform. Also unknown is what EA might be planning on the mobile space.

EA's studio run by Halo veteran Alex Seropian was developing a Battlefield game for mobile, but the company abruptly canceled the game and closed the studio. Exactly what EA's plans for Battlefield on mobile in the future are unknown.

New Battlefield story, setting, and characters

Very little is known about the story, setting, and characters for the new Battlefield game. However, it's been confirmed that the game is set in the modern day, which is a change of pace for the franchise after Battlefield 2042 (set in the future), Battlefield V (set in WWII), and Battlefield 1 (set in World War I). The modern-day setting elicited a number of positive responses from fans who wanted to see the franchise return to the present.

Insider Gaming reported that the new Battlefield will take place between 2027 and 2030. The campaign is said to focus on a "massive" private military group fighting against NATO. The report further claimed that the game takes place in a number of locations around the world, including the USA and Gibraltar. The site said the first piece of concept art depicted a scene set in Gibraltar.

"If you look back to the peak or the pinnacle of Battlefield, it's that Battlefield 3... Battlefield 4 era where everything was modern. And I think we have to get back to the core of what Battlefield is and do that amazingly well, and then we'll see where it goes from there," Vince Zampella told IGN. "But I think for me, [that] peak of Battlefield-ness is in that Battlefield 3 and 4 days. So I think it's nostalgic for players, for me, for the teams even. Those are kind of the heyday...although I would say 1942 also."

What will it be called?

The new Battlefield game doesn't have a name yet, but Insider Gaming reported that EA's teams are currently "weighing up" options, in part by launching surveys. Some of the options reportedly include "Battlefield 6" or simply "Battlefield."

Battle royale?

EA already runs a popular battle-royale game with Apex Legends from developer Respawn. But a report from Insider Gaming said the new Battlefield game will have its own battle royale mode as well, and that this could be developed by Ripple Effect. There isn't anything else to go on at this stage, however. EA did previously experiment with a battle royale mode called Firestorm in Battlefield V. But that was only playable within Battlefield V. Insider Gaming said the new Battlefield battle royale will be a free-to-play standalone game, and that the setup could be similar to how Activision offers a premium Call of Duty release alongside Call of Duty: Warzone.

Who's developing the new Battlefield

DICE, the creator of the Battlefield series, is leading development on the new Battlefield game's multiplayer element. Motive, the team behind Star Wars: Battlefront II and the upcoming Iron Man game, is taking the lead on the game's single-player campaign. Need for Speed and Burnout studio Criterion, meanwhile, is handling "content and experiences." Ripple Effect, meanwhile, is making "a new Battlefield experience" that some believe could be a battle royale.

When former Call of Duty boss Vince Zampella took over as head of the Battlefield franchise, he talked about creating a "Battlefield universe" of connected experiences. This four-studio approach seems to be part of that ambition. The team was originally one group stronger, as Master Chief creator Marcus Lehto was running a studio called Ridgeline that was contributing to this vision, but the team was closed by EA as part of a wider cost-cutting initiative.

Weapons, destruction, and gameplay

The Insider Gaming report said the team at DICE is aiming for 45 different weapons at launch, which is more than double what Battlefield 2042 had at release. The report went on to say the team is aiming to have 10 multiplayer maps available at launch, with presumably more to come after launch.

The Battlefield series is known for its destruction elements, with players able to bulldoze buildings and shoot out walls for tactical or hilarious purposes. It seems the new Battlefield game will carry this forward (of course), and the Insider Gaming report said the game will have "caliber-based destruction" similar to what Rainbow Six Siege offers. On another front, the report said players will be able to pick up and move downed players, and that this feature would be available in the rumored battle royale experience, too.

In terms of multiplayer gameplay, Zampella suggested that 128-player matches are going away. Battlefield 2042 launched with these massive-scale matches, but players complained that the maps were too big and player populations too low (even with bots inserted into matches), and DICE later scaled things back. It seems DICE is not going to repeat this with the next game.

"The 128 player, did it make it more fun? Like...doing the number for the sake of the number doesn't make any sense," Zampella told IGN. "We're testing everything around what's the most fun. It's a different play space, and I think you have to design around that. So we are designing something that is more akin to previous Battlefields," Zampella says. "I'd rather have nice, dense, really nice, well-designed play spaces. Some of them are really good. I can't wait for you to see some of them.

Another highly criticized element of Battlefield 2042 were its Specialist characters, which replaced the traditional class-based system that Battlefield fans know and love. Zampella joined the team after the decision to do this, and while he applauded DICE's ambition to try something new, he admitted, "Not everybody liked it." So for the new game, "Specialists will not be coming back," Zampella said. "So classes are kind of at the core of Battlefield, and we're going back to that."

Taking on Call of Duty?

Battlefield and Call of Duty are two of the top game franchises in the shooter space, and Zampella said he believes the new Battlefield game has the "possibility" to outsell Call of Duty. However, Zampella stressed that EA is hoping to make a product that stands apart from Activision's Call of Duty series.

"I mean, is that what we're going for? I mean, not directly, but always," he said about Battlefield outselling Call of Duty. "We're not looking to take down Call of Duty. We're making something that's different and we're making something that's us. But yeah, it definitely has the possibility."