Battlefield 6 Already Has The Blueprint For A Megahit
The path to victory has already been paved.
After months of leaks (many of which look fantastic), the official coming-out party for the next Battlefield game has begun. Its debut trailer released earlier this week, giving us a proper look at the game’s return to a contemporary setting, as well as the tone of what we can only hope is a recalibration for the series. After the disappointing release of Battlefield 2042, DICE’s first-person shooter series desperately needs a home run.
As most of the online Battlefield community will tell it, Battlefield 6 doesn’t have to do a whole lot to win back its beleaguered but forgiving fans. Nearly all the gripes that players have had with the series these last nine years stem from developers straying from Battlefield’s identity. Cutting traditional Battlefield classes, changing how primary weapons work, a Battle Royale mode, a half-baked inclimate weather mechanic; all avoidable stumbles that nobody asked for. With Battlefield 6 on the horizon, this feels like the best opportunity yet to make good on delivering the back-to-basics, no-frills modern take on the multiplayer shooter players have been asking for since 2016.
How could it do this flawlessly? Well, luckily for DICE and the three other studios working on Battlefield 6, there are nearly a dozen predecessors to take inspiration from, the majority of which are some of the best multiplayer shooters of their respective times. If Battlefield 6 wants to be the comeback kid the community’s hoping for, it should preserve these series-defining features from past entries.
First is destructible environments. When Battlefield console spinoff Bad Company debuted, no one could stop talking about its destruction tech. Underpinning this excellent first-person shooter was an innovation that changed the way you played. Enemies who ran behind a way could still be gotten to by blowing up the walls they retreated behind. Blowing up the foundation of a house would collapse the entire thing with enough explosives.
Multiplayer in Bad Company and its 2010 sequel saw its maps leveled under prolonged duress and warfare. It added to the chaos the series was known for. At a time when Call of Duty was the undisputed king of the genre, this feature was one of the main things that prevented Battlefield from becoming obsolete the same way Medal of Honor did. Unfortunately, each subsequent entry after Bad Company 2 reduced this aspect of the series significantly, something that most players would agree was a mistake. Frostbite tech has looked tremendous for a decade now. It would be great to see the extra resources provided by current-gen consoles used to bring back this beloved, series-defining feature in a big way.
We already know that EA Motive, the award-winning team behind the 2023 Dead Space remake, is crafting the single-player component of Battlefield 6. Back in May, the developer told Inverse that it’s looking to the Alex Garland film Civil War and the Paramount+ show Lioness for tonal inspiration. But I believe they’d be wise to also take a page out of Battlefield: Hardline’s book.
The Civil War comparisons are clear in Battlefield 6’s first trailer.
Military shooters in the gaming space are a dime a dozen. Between legacy titles like Call Of Duty and Rainbow Six, to more recent hits like Ready Or Not, there’s not a whole lot special about games that make you another duty-bound soldier in a conflict much bigger than you. If the next Battlefield game wants to blaze a path all its own, taking heavy inspiration from the campaign of the series’ least popular game would go a long way in spicing up the tried and true formula. A more character-driven, outside-the-box approach to the traditional structure the subgenre is known for could push it forward in a more interesting way.
Looking to more obscure entries, Battlefield is long overdue for aircraft-only modes and maps at launch. First introduced in the underrated spinoff Battlefield 1943, Air Superiority lets players join matches focused solely on flying aircraft. The mode would return in 2016’s Battlefield 1 via DLC, introducing two maps to support it.
These modes are not only fun for the small portion of the fan base that loves dogfighting with others online. It is also a great way to practice being behind the controls of the game’s most versatile and difficult vehicle to pilot. It would be great to see Air Superiority make its return right at launch.
Battlefield 1943’s airplanes-only mode should make a return.
As maligned as the entire rollout and post-launch support for Battlefield 2042 was, there is one aspect of the game I believe is worth salvaging. Battlefield Portal was the series' attempt to combine the best aspects of Halo’s custom games and Fortnite’s user-generated experiences. A mode dedicated to bringing back the weapons, match types, maps, and playstyles of past Battlefield games is genius. Unfortunately, its execution left the idea languishing in a package rife with issues.
I wouldn’t need DICE and company to give Portal a second go right away. I’d want them to make sure the core experience is bug-free and functional by launch before trying to tackle something this ambitious once more. But when the time is right, a big update containing the Portal could make Battlefield the forever game its community, and likely EA, wants it to be.
While DICE only has to look to its own past for inspiration, they should also take a look at the competition to understand what they shouldn’t do. Call Of Duty, the reigning king of the first-person shooter, is firmly in a rough spot at the moment. Despite an excellent game in 2024’s Black Ops 6, a constant influx of cheaters, bugs, and connectivity issues have plagued an otherwise fantastic entry.
Call Of Duty has officially jumped the shark with Black Ops 6 seasonal content.
Making things all the worse is the internal choice to turn Call Of Duty into a metaverse for no one. The live service started out with some decent novelty crossovers like Squid Game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But it’s quickly devolved into a constant stream of uninspired, outdated stunt casts. The likes of Seth Rogan, Jay and Silent Bob, Beavis and Butthead, and Stan Smith of American Dad has turned Black Ops 6 into the one of the most visually unappealing shooters on the scene today. Jumping into a game of Call Of Duty today is as uncohesive as it is corny. It comes across as a misguided attempt to compete with Fortnite, without understanding what makes its multiverse compelling.
DICE and company should make it a priority to go in the total opposite direction by minimize looking like a clown show as much as possible. It doesn’t mean the developers don’t get to have any fun with the inevitable seasonal content (especially when they basically invented them). But they should try its best to be more creative than jamming 420 references and 90s cartoon characters into the game without cause. Maybe some tonally appropriate cosmetics or skins that don’t break the game’s art direction. Resisting to urge to chase trends. Maintaining the integrity of the experience its trying to build will mean a lot to the fan base, and may even convert some lapsed Call Of Duty fans in the process.
When Battlefield 6 drops this fall, there’s a lot of potential to reinvigorate the series in a way fans have hoped for years now. And to knock it out of the park, developers only need to look to the series strongest features (and the competition’s shortcomings) to make good on its potential.
