It seems to me that when folks shot, stabbed and exploded their way through the 1940s Western Front in Call of Duty’s 2003 debut, the very notion of charging about an online multiplayer map as Nicki Minaj with pink grenades in tow against the likes of Beavis and Butthead would be an entirely alien one, such is the uncoupling of Activision’s franchise from its authentic roots. With a void very much now existing for an ultra-popular and serious online shooter, Battlefield Studios is poised to step into that space with Battlefield 6, a thoroughly straight-laced, utterly serious and equally spectacular affair that looks set to reclaim the mantle of the serious online military shooter with aplomb.
Marking a noted departure from the near-future warfare scenario depicted in Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 6 roots itself in the present day. Everything from the setting to the weapons, to the locations, all of it looks contemporary and grittily authentic in ways that the likes of Call of Duty have not been for a good long while. Let’s take the setting first of all. Battlefield 6 envisions a version of our present day where NATO is deeply fractured and a new private military alliance known as Pax Armata has risen to stake its claim on the world stage, triggering a swathe of proxy wars and battles all across the world.
Then there’s the tone of Battlefield 6. Very much eschewing the sparse and oftentimes pristine futurism of the series’ previous entry, Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 6 instead brings back the grit, mud and close-knit urban destruction of lived-in spaces that earlier entries in the series thrived in. Battlefield 6’s world-spanning conflict isn’t happening in some abstract vision of the near future; it’s happening in Gibraltar, Brooklyn, Cairo and on your doorstep in a world that mirrors our own, albeit with a slight twist toward the darkness, as one might expect given its bleak scenario.
Finally, when we look at the arsenal available to players in Battlefield 6, we are once again presented with something which echoes the present day and what you would reasonably expect to hear and see on the news. This not only means access to the usual array of assault rifles, handguns, shotguns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, grenades, mines and more, but it also means players will be able to get their warmongering mitts on all manner of drones, tanks, jeeps, mobile missile launchers, helicopters and jet fighters as well. Put simply, if you were to switch on the TV and take a peek at some recent conflicts, you’ll likely recognise much, if not all, of the armaments that Battlefield 6 presents to the player.
A big part of Battlefield 6 reclaiming the mantle of the de facto serious online military shooter is, of course, Battlefield 6 also reclaiming much of its own past calibre. It does this by taking more than one leaf from the book of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, easily one of the most popular entries in the whole franchise – and for good reason. When Battlefield: Bad Company 2 released all the way back in 2010, series fans and genre aficionados alike were bowled over by its freewheeling destruction, rewarding class-based structure and thoroughly compelling objective-based modes. Despite the fifteen-year gap, EA hasn’t forgotten what made Battlefield: Bad Company 2 so beloved in the first place, either.
Indeed, from a design perspective, Battlefield 6 in so many ways feels more like a spiritual sequel to the gameplay mechanics glimpsed in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 than any other series entry. Destruction makes an emphatic return in Battlefield 6, and by ‘destruction’, I mean the sort of player-driven, micro-environment destruction we all saw in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and not the ‘Levelution’ scripted destruction events which would occur the same way every time in Battlefield 4. This means that if a group of hostile folks are holed up within a building, you can bring the whole thing down around their ears. Likewise, you can quite literally smash through walls and floors to boot as well, lending Battlefield 6 the sort of destructive verticality that fans of The Finals will surely appreciate.
Elsewhere, classes are back! Though Battlefield 2042 realised the baffling error of its ways by including classes towards the end of its lifetime, Battlefield 6 isn’t making that mistake and will allow players to pick from the classic Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon classes on day one. For the uninitiated, Battlefield 6 very much leans into a role system where each of those four classes has a valuable function to perform on the battlefield and where, somewhat predictably, there is a great deal of synergy to be had with these classes.
Whether you’re a Support class that’s refilling the ammo of your best buds to keep the fight going, a Recon soldier picking off enemies at a distance with a sniper rifle, an Engineer capable of repairing vehicles or a trusty Assault grunt punching through the enemy lines with powerful weaponry, Battlefield 6 makes everybody’s preferred playstyle feel both valued and crucially important to winning every match.
Though a large part of Battlefield 6’s appeal lies in how well it brings forward great mechanics from acclaimed previous series entries into the present day, it should also be noted that EA’s latest also has more than its own fair share of tricks up its digital sleeve. Starting with the new drag system, when attempting to revive fallen mates, you can now drag their prone form some distance, hopefully taking them behind some cover where you can do the whole healing thing away from prying bullets.
Another new feature is the ability to hitch a ride. That’s right, in Battlefield 6, you and a buddy can hang onto the back of jeeps, tanks and other such weighty land vehicles, not only allowing for more rapid and spontaneous mobility around the game world overall, but it’s also a mechanic which serves to get you into the heat of battle much faster as well.
Finally, there’s also been some love given to the on-foot traversal system, too. Rather than taking on an approximation of the absurd, Temu Matrix-like omni-movement seen in the most recent Call of Duty games, Battlefield 6 instead makes some smaller, more considered changes to player movement. Powered by a new “Kinesthetic Combat System”, players can not only perform combat rolls after falling from a height to get them into fighting form quickly, but can also now sprint while crouched and use special deployable assault ladders to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.
All told, Battlefield 6 represents a return to form for a franchise that once defined the serious online military shooter. By grounding its conflicts in the present day, embracing gritty realism, restoring fan-favourite gameplay mechanics, and introducing thoughtful new systems, it feels like a title designed for both veterans and newcomers who crave a satisfying, strategic, and immersive experience. Battlefield 6 isn’t just another shooter – it’s a statement that Battlefield still knows how to deliver large-scale, intelligent, and thrilling warfare, proving that when it comes to serious online combat, this franchise still has the firepower to lead the charge.
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