Summary
Battlefield 6may not be right around the corner yet, but a lot is known about it from leaked playtest footage. With the next game in the long-running shooter franchise appearing more grounded than the last, there is a lot of optimism in the community for the first modern-dayBattlefieldsinceHardline.
The leaks have also generated a number of questions. There is a little uncertainty among some fans about weapon recoil and soldier animations, as well as concerns about some aesthetic choices, although the game being in pre-alpha means all of this could change. What cannot be changed so easily, and what may define the legacy ofBattlefield 6, is how it has learned from the triumphs and pitfalls of the series’ past.
Battlefield 6 Needs to Draw Very Different Types of Players Back to the Franchise
Both astrength and weakness ofBattlefieldis how diverse each entry is from the last. Sometimes, the progression from game to game is iterative, such as fromBad Company 2through toBF4, though more recent games have been markedly different, such asHardlinetoBF1. The very radical shifts in tone have been a source of contention for some fans, yet for many more, the change can be a welcome breath of fresh air.
This has regularly caused fans to express very different opinions about individual titles. There are players who love the stripped-back, resource-limited action ofBF5, thriving in the moment-to-moment tactical gameplay, just as there are players who feel the historical liberties taken with the game make it difficult for them to enjoy. There is no right or wrong answer to which entry is best, butBF6will need to work hard to appeal to an ever more fragmented audience. So the question ofwhatBF6can learn from its predecessorsremains.
The Highs and Lows of Past Battlefield Games
When it was revealed,Battlefield 2042was supposed to be the game that would bring disenfranchised players back to the series. It harkened back to “only inBattlefieldmoments,” like players leaping from jets in a dogfight to shoot an RPG at their pursuer to show the series was returning to a more arcade direction. But these moments were overshadowed by big changes to core mechanics. Specialists replaced the classes, guns were not locked down depending on the type, and the 128-player maps, a key selling point, were too large.
There were positive iterations too. Hot-swapping gun attachments made switching scopes, barrels, or ammo let players react to emerging combat situations, and some of the specialist kits meaningfully improved areas of gameplay, likeSundance’s wingsuit specialist kitor Caspar’s spotting drone gadget. 2042 had a very rocky launch, and for several months seemed like it could be abandoned, but Dice made huge improvements to core functionality and provided a decent amount of post-launch support.
Another game that had a very poor launch wasBattlefield 4. Cited by many as the quintessentialBattlefieldtitle, its release was marred by so many technical issues that a lot of fans seriously wondered about the future of the series. Now 12 years since release, because of the tight gameplay and strong map design, it has provided the benchmark by which its successors are measured. Not all the features have landed well -Levolution, the feature that transforms maps with pre-baked destruction, is banned on many servers for making the game feel worse for a lot of players.
Bad Company 2’s destructible environmentsprovided a more granular approach. Structures had multiple weak points that could be destroyed individually, leaving some maps unrecognizable by the end of the game. However, as an older game,Bad Company 2has more technical limitations, playing out on relatively small maps with lower player counts, and lacking jets. By today’s standards, the movement can feel rigid, though the gunplay retains a lot of kick.
Historical Battlefield Games Focused Heavily on Immersion
Battlefield 1has been described as “Cinematic”ever since it was revealed. Dropping into a new match instantly sets the scene, as the soldier’s kit bounces with their footsteps and distant explosions echo across cratered fields. The series has always straddled the line between arcade gameplay and immersive experiences, but no game has made it the central pillar of its design quite likeBF1. Turning off the HUD and charging into a trench is just as exhilarating as it was in 2016, which explains why it is remembered as a high point for the franchise.
TheFirst World War settingwas new ground for the series, and it helped that not as many other games have explored it, though the prevalence of experimental automatic weapons and armored special pickups made the game feel anachronistic at times. Losing teams would be reinforced with a powerful Behemoth to help turn the tide of a match. No matter how incredible they were to look at, Behemoths rarely changed the course of a game, and if they did, players complained that losing was rewarded, so the catch-up mechanic has not made a return since.
Battlefield 5took a different approach toBF1, stripping away the resources that were bountiful in its predecessor to focus on rewarding skillful movement and gunplay over the sheer volume of explosives.BF5encouraged greater squad cooperation, and maps included positions that could be fortified by any soldier. Vehicles were similarly restricted significantly by turret rotation caps and needing resupply stations to repair.
ButBF5struggled with being contentiousbefore it even launched. Many players felt alienated by the changes made to the World War 2 setting, and Dice doubling down on its less historical vision drove many away. The maps too received a lukewarm reception, as although many were decent, there were none that stood out as community favorites.
Battlefield 6 Needs to Incorporate the Best Aspects of Previous Games and Avoid the Pitfalls
The series has not gotten where it is today without overcoming serious challenges in its past. Fans will always disagree about which game is the best, and some entries are more popular than others, but all of them have something to teach. The good news is that theleaked footage ofBF6shows it may be learning some of these lessons.
Classes have completely replaced specialists, and destruction seems to be a balance ofBad Company 2andBF4.Squad reviving fromBF5is backalongside dragging downed soldiers, a feature promised for that game but never delivered, as are rolling landings. Moments between firefights also seem quieter, creating a better distinction between the chaos of battle and the downtime, which is very reminiscent ofBF1.
There are a lot of mechanics that could and should be carried over intoBattlefield 6, but they alone would not make the perfect game. One of the driving reasons for player dissatisfaction has been the series’ identity - each game being so different from the last is good for variety, but it has contributed to portions of the community leaving and not coming back.
A successful game that satisfies the wide pool of fans and cementsBattlefield’s household must be greater than the sum of its parts. A game that just stitches together all the popular mechanics will not be a success, because to be remembered, it needs to stand on its own two feet. There is anuphill fight coming forBF6, but everything revealed so far points to a game in development that has taken the lessons of the past to heart so that it can take strides into the series’ future.
