EA is pulling back the curtain on Battlefield 6 ever so slightly with a new video introducing the game's four development studios, revealing a pre-alpha community test, and teasing a few details about the new game.
There's no official title or release date for the new game, but the teaser video makes clear that it's a traditional new entry in the Battlefield series. DICE is leading development on multiplayer and the underlying game systems, while Criterion - best known as the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed - is expanding its support role and focusing on a single-player component.
The devs make clear in no uncertain terms here that "campaign is back" this time around. Motive, the studio behind the Dead Space remake, is also aiding in development of the single-player campaign and working on multiplayer maps. Ripple Effect, the longtime Battlefield support studio and descendant of the office that made the original Medal of Honor, is working on "an experience that is really going to open Battlefield up to a whole group of new players," but there are no details on what that experience is just yet.
This new Battlefield game is in "pre-alpha," but it's far enough along for the devs to give us about 10 seconds worth of gameplay footage. The footage shows off a whole lot of impressive destruction, and appears to confirm that we're returning to a modern, grounded setting.
A series of community test under the moniker Battlefield Labs will get underway shortly. Battlefield Labs sign-ups are already live, though be aware that invites are limited and the test will be under NDA. "We will start by testing the pillars of play, like core combat and destruction. Then transition to balance and feedback for our weapons, vehicles and gadgets, ultimately leading to where all these pieces come together in our maps, modes, and squad play," the devs explain in a Discord post.
"And yes, we will be testing Conquest and Breakthrough, the heart and soul of our all-out warfare experience, but BF Labs will also be a place to explore new ideas and fine-tune and improve Battlefield pillars like our class system (Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon) to create deeper more strategic play."
EA has increasingly come to focus on community playtests to help shape new games like Project Rene and Skate 4, and given the tepid response to Battlefield 2142 it's no surprise the publisher wants to make sure it's getting things right with the next entry in the FPS franchise.
Take aim at all the best FPS games.
Battlefield 6's first teaser takes me back to the days of Modern Warfare 2 lobbies and 24/7 Metro matches, proving we all crave a return to shooters' simpler times
Doom: The Dark Ages' new cutscenes exist because of fans' unlikely obsession with the series' lore: "A Doom game that doesn’t have a story is just an arcade game”
