Okay, I’ll admit it. This impressions article was meant to go live during the Battlefield 6 Beta, but the game was so enjoyable for me that I couldn’t stop playing. It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact. This is probably the most time I’ve put in a game, never mind a Beta, in a very long time.
At the end of weekend one, I accumulated 36 hours of playtime, averaging 9 hours per day. To some people, that might be on the mediocre side, but for me, it was the first time in years that I’ve lived and breathed a video game. I felt like a teenager again with zero responsibilities and a never-ending desire to keep playing, and that, my friends, is a magical feeling.
But before my impressions and feedback, I want to give some massive credit where it’s due. I’ll be the first to admit that when I first heard about EA’s all-in approach to Battlefield 6, I wasn’t just worried, I was petrified. The last two installments (Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 2042) were disappointing for me and the wider community for various reasons. EA’s decision to double down on the franchise, especially following the disastrous release of Battlefield 2042, could have ended catastrophically.
But thankfully, Battlefield Studios, which consists of DICE, Motive, Ripple Effect, and Criterion, has done a fantastic job. Yes, there are a few issues here and there, but again, this was just a Beta. The important thing is that the foundations of a great Battlefield game have been laid, and all four studios deserve a massive congratulations, especially with the challenges they faced during development.
Movement and Gunplay
Battlefield 6’s gameplay has been a hot point of discussion this past week, with the game being compared closely to Call of Duty. While I don’t disagree with that sentiment, I also don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. To me, movement feels like a pretty good balance of that classic Battlefield feel with a few aspects of Call of Duty sprinkled in. Mainly, the new improved movement system (whatever they’ve called it) feels great and presumably will come into its own with Ripple Effect’s Battle Royale mode.
Guns also feel great, and while I spent most of my time with the LMGs, I do think there needs to be some variation between all the weapons. With the right attachments, every gun felt like a laser beam and had a rapid time to kill, regardless of the range. SMGs could do just as well as an assault rifle or LMG in the right hands, and I did become slightly frustrated with how quickly I was dying against the wrong type of weapon.
The developers have weighed in on this on social media and believe that the time to kill (or time to death) is a netcode issue, so hopefully that is something that’s addressed by launch.
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Maps
Although there were only three maps available in weekend one of the Beta, I feel like we got a good balance of what the game has to offer. Yes, the maps are small in scale on Siege of Cairo and Iberian Offensive, but I believe the most critical aspect of map design is that they must play well, regardless of size. Thankfully, I feel like both of these maps play well, and I had no issues – apart from people climbing on the roofs on Siege of Cairo.
Liberation Peak is the largest of the three maps, offering aerial combat. I don’t tend to play in air vehicles, but this map from an infantry perspective played terribly in Conquest and got progressively worse as the Beta went on. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but by the time weekend one of the Beta ended, the mountains were covered in glints from sniper rifles and people raining down bullets from quite frankly, stupid places where they probably shouldn’t be able to climb.
It completely ruined the flow of the map, and while I think it’s easily addressed by limiting the climb height of the mountains, I do think the map needs to be reworked slightly. Perhaps a large tunnel through the middle of the mountain, or some large bunker complex, would work well and offer some close-quarters combat apart from the area near the D flag.
Menus
One of my biggest gripes with the game thus far is the menus. To me, they are pretty overwhelming even for an experienced Battlefield player, and with Battlefield Studios wanting an easier barrier to entry across the board for the game, the menus need some serious simplification.
From the overall settings to even just modifying my weapon during a match, everything needs to be streamlined to make navigation easier. Having to click four to five times to just change a scope on my gun during a game seems a bit excessive and could be a turn off for many new players.
Player Visibility
Another gripe was player visibility in Battlefield 6. While I did manage to “get used to it”, it was still tremendously difficult to spot players if I wasn’t aiming down sights with a 3-4x magnification scope. Often, I would find myself outgunned simply because I wasn’t moving and aiming down sights.
This issue is slightly more exaggerated when you’re either looking into a building or looking out of one. While I understand it from a logical lighting perspective, you should be able to see players shooting from a window or in a broken building, and likewise, the brightness aiming outside a building is way too bright.
I’m not entirely sure on a solution here, but I do think there needs to be one. Let’s not introduce wacky skins to make that happen, though.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think Battlefield 6 will shape up to be a brilliant game. A majority of the bugs and issues I encountered are easily fixable within the two months remaining until launch, and I’m confident that Battlefield Studios will be able to address them.
There are undeniable signs that they want to convert the Call of Duty audience this time around, and with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (releasing November 2025), will rely on nothing but nostalgia this time around, EA and Battlefield Studios are in a strong position to do just that.
I think a key mode to success here will also be Ripple Effect’s Battle Royale mode, which is slated to be a free-to-play experience according to our sources. With Call of Duty: Warzone experiencing a sharp decline over the past couple of years and seemingly no way to bring back players, it could prove to be an excellent opportunity for Battlefield. Simply put, I think there’s a strong desire for a new free-to-play Battle Royale in the market.
If released in Q1 2026, it will give Battlefield a second (or third if you consider the holidays) injection of players and likely on a mass scale.
What did you think of Battlefield 6 weekend 1 of the beta? Let us know through the official Insider Gaming forums discussion.
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Tom Henderson is Insider Gaming's Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief. When he's not running one of the industry's leading independent video game websites, he's probably playing an FPS like Call of Duty,…
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