One of FPS gaming’s tentpole franchises is back at the front of the conversation, with the upcoming release of “Battlefield 6” dominating online chatter for fans and taking over the preorder charts. That excitement continues to climb now with the knowledge that fans can get their hands on the game across two weekend open betas.
The first takes place this weekend, with general access opening on all platforms at 6pm AEST on Saturday, August 9. Don’t expect immediate access since tens of thousands of players are already queuing to join days ahead of the launch.
For those who miss out, a second open beta weekend will run a few short days later, with general access from 6pm AEST on Thursday, August 14. Both betas will run for two days, and feature samples of gameplay that will be made available in the full release on October 10.
During the first beta, users will be able to play three maps in three core modes: Conquest, Breakthrough and Closed Weapons Breakthrough. During week two, a fourth map will become available to play, plus two additional modes: Rush and Deathmatch.
The upcoming release could make or break the franchise. Early feedback from content creators and playtesters has been largely positive, but many fans are still sore from the disappointing release of the previous entry “Battlefield 2042” — infamous for poor technical performance, overcomplicated loadout builds and a lack of franchise features such as destruction and class gameplay.
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There’s also a wider range of competitors now, with the endlessly popular “Call of Duty” IP taking the spotlight of FPS releases for the past few years. “Battlefield 6” design director Shashank Uchil poked fun at the prevalence of crossover content in games like “Call of Duty”, which now offers players the option to buy skins of everything from Snoop Dogg and “Squid Game” guards to Godzilla and Lionel Messi.
Uchil said in an interview with DBLTAP, “It has to be grounded. That is what BF3 and BF4 was — it was all soldiers, on the ground.” He added, “I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.”
“Battlefield 6” will release in full on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 10. You can preorder it on your choice of platform here.