The stage is set forBattlefield 6to be thecomeback the series needs, rectifying the missteps of the last, maligned entry,Battlefield 2042.My initial impressions of playingBF6are very high, but I can’t shake a sense of familiarity. Electronic Arts seems to have a grand vision forBattlefield 6– andit’s curiously the exact same one the publisher had for2042.
Triple-A multiplayer games are no longer content with just taking your money. The live-service boom has produced a number of games (and many more failures) vying for your long-term attention.Battlefield 2042was the series' first attempt at a more modern, seasonal update cycle, but the game’s lackluster showing likely brought disappointing returns. WithBattlefield 6off to a much stronger start in its pre-launch phase, though, there’s a better chance at success.
Battlefield 6 Wants To Be A Gaming Platform Like Fortnite
Becoming A Destination
Even withBattlefield 6’s long development time (the span between the releases of2042andBF6is the longest in series history),it’s launching with an incredibly ambitious variety of content. First is theheart and soul ofBattlefield, a suite of multiplayer modes headlined by the All-Out Warfare playlists: Conquest, Breakthrough, and Rush. To accompany them are smallermultiplayer game modeslike Squad Deathmatch and Domination.
These varied multiplayer experiences will be set across nine maps at launch, including aremake ofBF3’s Operation Firestorm.BF6’s campaign will certainly draw some attention, and a more in-depth look at the teased battle royale mode is anticipated, but nothing is more emblematic of the game’s ambitions than itsupgraded version of Portal.
From the brief glimpses we’ve seen,Portal’s new map and NPC behavior editing tools will make it something akin toHalo’s Forge, an immensely popular, community-driven custom game creation and play platform.Battlefield 6just has to get players in the door, and if Portal is sophisticated enough for creators to make must-play game types, an organic, dedicated community could spring up.
It almost feels like a manufactured version of whatFortnitehas serendipitously become. Beginning life as a co-op horde shooter,FortniteBattle Royale propelled it to astounding popularity, and it’s only grown from there.Fortniteis now home to a LEGO survival game, a competitive tactical shooter, frequent virtual concerts, community-made custom games, and more. It’s perhaps the biggest and most successful example of howa single game can grow into a bona fide platformin its own right.
Battlefield 2042 Tried The Same Strategy – And Failed
RIP Hazard Zone
Battlefield 2042had a similarly wide-reaching strategy, promoted and structured as three main gameplay avenues: All-Out Warfare, Portal, and Hazard Zone. All-Out Warfare boasted its ultimately regrettable 128-player multiplayer modes, including mainstays Conquest and Breakthrough. Its Portal was a lesser version ofBF6’s, giving players moderate control over custom game creation, but including the novelty of letting you play remastered segments ofBattlefield 1942,Bad Company 2, andBattlefield 3.
Then there was Hazard Zone, an easily forgotten entry into the then-fledgling extraction subgenre, which is still dominated by the likes ofEscape from TarkovandHunt: Showdown. Hazard Zone support quickly ended, Portal’s novelty wore off shortly thereafter, and myriad issues with All-Out Warfare’s rendition of the classicBattlefieldexperience left players with very little to hold on to.
Regarding extraction games, I’m personally very excited aboutARC Raiders, which is being made by multiple ex-Battlefielddevs at Embark Studios, and isreleasing shortly afterBF6.
Looking back, it’s easy to see thatwhat wasn’t misguided was under-baked. Abandoning classes for Specialists and featuring almost exclusively massive, nearly empty multiplayer maps made All-Out Warfare unappealing, Portal didn’t quite have a robust enough creation suite, and Hazard Zone had its support cut before Season 1 even started.
EA has yearly cash cows likeMaddenandEA FC(formerlyFIFA), andApex Legendshas tried for years to introduce additional game modes, butit has yet to strike gold with a consistent, long-term performerlikeFortniteorCall of Duty’s one-two punch of perennially rotating multiplayer and ongoingWarzone.Battlefield 2042was a strategic effort to provide variety, but its individual parts were all lacking, not to mention their sum.
BF6 Is Starting Off On The Right Foot For Long-Term Support
But Will Players Stick Around?
Battlefield 2042’s specter looms overBattlefield 6, especially since there’s the continued branding of the so-called All-Out Warfare suite. The good news is the game actually has more potential, and that’s immediately obvious. I remember playing2042’s beta and being a little unsure about it – the game kind of felt likeBattlefield, and the classic game modes were there, but something was off.
After just a few hours of playingBattlefield 6,most of my worries have been assuaged. Even just a few games of Conquest make itsBF3andBF4parentage apparent – with destruction even better thanBad Company 2’s thrown in for good measure. Itsopen beta periodswill be the real tests, though. Is it good enough for players to abandon the other live-service games that already take up so much time?
All I’ve played is the multiplayer, and that’s all that will be featured in the open beta. That used to be enough to keep a game afloat until its sequel, but with EA betting big onBF6, each of its components will need to carry its own weight. I don’t want to speak too soon, but Portal already looks more promising this time around, and if it’s true that the battle royale will be free-to-play, all it has to do is avoidBattlefield 5Firestorm’s gameplay mistakes.
Electronic Arts has seemingly had this grand vision forBattlefieldfor many years, since2042was in development.BF6is already shaping up to have a better chance at making this platform a reality. It’s a huge boon that the gameplay is actually good; it immediately evokes feelings of playing the series' older, most beloved entries. With four studios behind it,Battlefield 6is a truly massive undertaking, but better execution than2042in nearly every facet may set it up for long-term success.
