As one of the industry’s biggest shooters, a lot is riding onBattlefield 6’s unmitigated success. Recently, it was reported thatEA expectsBattlefield 6will hit 100 million players, and with a $400 million budget to match, it’s clear the publisher is expecting great things on a scale yet unseen in the franchise’s history. After the last two releases received mixed receptions, there is a big emphasis on EA and DICE to get things right from the start.
In the lead up toBattlefield 6release, EA has been careful to state that the series is in good hands and is returning to its roots. However, if this is the publisher’s objective, then some recent news about a controversial mode coming to the game seems very strange.Battlefieldhas been going through an identity crisis for a number of years now, and by betting big on a historically failed mode, it’s in danger of repeating a very painful lesson.
Battlefield 6’s Leaked Battle Royale Mode Is Betting on the Series’ Biggest Weakness
If previous rumors were not enough to confirm it,Battlefield 6’s battle royale mode details leakedthis week, showing a slice of the introduction cutscene as well as several details specific to the BR. The inclusion of an alternate mode to the series’ mainstays of Conquest and Rush has been part of EA’s plans forBattlefield 5and2042, which offered Firestorm and Hazard Zone respectively. But to call these modes selling points would not be accurate. From day one, neither of them saw the player counts that EA needed to sustain support for them, and many players quickly fell back on each games’ classic playlists. There were numerous reasons why the modes didn’t take off, but ultimately, both should have set a precedent that chasing trends inBattlefieldwas not going to be a winning strategy.
DICE’s Strength Is Not in Battle Royales, but EA Wants to Try Anyway
This pursuit of a BR mode comes at an especially puzzling time for the market.Fortniteand a couple of other titles dominate the BR scene, to the point where plenty of new, promising BRs fell at the first hurdle as they were drowned out by huge competition. As such, it seems odd forBattlefield 6to be chasing a gradually diminishing market, years after its peak. Though with a live-service BR able to make astonishing amounts of money if it succeeds, andApex Legendsis struggling with lower player countsright now, EA likely sees it as a risk worth taking.
DespiteApex’s perceived stagnation, it still regularly draws in over 100,000 concurrent players six years after it was released.
The biggest problem with aBattlefield 6Battle Royale is that DICE is not a studio known for making one that clicks. As mentioned above, the studio has tried twice to follow an industry trend and had its hopes dashed, so it is hard to believe that there will be a third time lucky. It would be better served by trying to win backBattlefieldfans’ trust rather thanBF6trying to run before it can walk. But, ifBattlefield 6really wants to face off againstCall of Duty, it could instead innovate via a small-scale, fast-paced mode focused on tactical gameplay.Call of Duty’s Skirmish mode is copyingBattlefield, after all, andBFfiring back might be a good way to take players who have become disenfranchised withCoD, rather than chasing trends that failed to convert players toBattlefield. For better or worse, though, another attempt at a battle royale mode fromBattlefieldseems very likely at this juncture.
