Ah, Battlefield, a franchise I can confidently say I've never felt invested in at any level. The military-sim multiplayer shooter is a genre that has always been a little too knee-deep in cornball masculinity and Michael Bay-esque theatrics for my liking, and I've always lumped Battlefield in with the likes of Call of Duty, a franchise that, generally speaking, I dislike on several levels. It's bizarre, then, that I should feel so heavily invested in Battlefield 6, a game that's totally not my cup of tea on paper.
Make no mistake, I don't think Battlefield 6 is a flawless game. The Secure Boot requirement on PC is a major headache, and I'm always disappointed by aggressive, premium Battle Passes and microtransactions in a $70 game, to name two of my biggest grievances so far. I've heard that the campaign is a wet blanket as well, though I wouldn't know much about that. Indeed, while I usually hone in on single-player before trying out a game's multiplayer mode, I haven't been able to pull myself away from Battlefield 6's large-scale PvP battles for long enough to explore this allegedly subpar story mode. In other words, Battlefield 6's multiplayer has its hooks in me, real deep.
Why Battlefield 6's Multiplayer Works for Me, as a Non-Fan
My Core Grievances with Military Shooters like Battlefield and Call of Duty
Despite not identifying as a fan of these franchises, I have quite a bit of experience with them—I did come of age during Call of Duty's glory days, after all. While I think these titles are strong from a basic design standpoint, with satisfying combat mechanics, levels, and the like, their broader packaging has always felt cold, cynical, and, for lack of a better term, lame.
Even before predatory monetization practices like microtransactions and loot boxes, franchises like Call of Duty were designed from the ground-up to be as addictive as possible. Single matches rarely felt satisfying to me, regardless of my performance, and that's by design: many of these multiplayer shooters focus on being just entertaining enough to keep you hooked, but not so engaged that you feel like you've had a complete experience. This is why I've always loved single-player games—they have a satisfying beginning, middle, and end. Battlefield 6's multiplayer might not have a proper end point, but I'll be damned if each match doesn't feel like a blockbuster story in and of itself.
I've also been rather turned off by military shooters due to their jingoistic storytelling which, to be fair, isn't something that Battlefield 6 is totally free of.
Battlefield 6 Feels Like a War Movie
Granted, I'm something of a "noob" when it comes to these competitive shooters, but I would be shocked to find a military FPS that's anywhere near as dynamic, bombastic, and cinematic as Battlefield 6. Matches may be populated by dozens of real players, but nothing ever feels haphazard or random: you'll be running through concentrated attack points, dodging gunfire while allied medics drag injured soldiers across the ground—look up, and you might see a fighter jet get blown out of the sky, or a claymore mine renovating the upper story of an apartment complex. This is just a small part of the story you've chosen to participate in, a story that will unfold over the course of a 20-to-30-minute match.
Destructible environments, designated team roles, and vehicles help create Battlefield 6's sense of drama, but so does the game's community. Certainly, Battlefield 6's multiplayer is built on the back of teamwork, with players from across the globe strategizing, planning, and reacting to each other's infinitely complex behaviors. The combination of human unpredictability and nuanced, deep game mechanics makes Battlefield 6 feel like a growing, mutating organism: there's no way to know exactly what will happen next, which is a far cry from the interchangeable nature of CoD or Halo multiplayer. Needless to say, I think I finally understand the appeal of Battlefield—here's hoping my free time and sleep schedule don't suffer too greatly as a result.
Battlefield 6
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- October 10, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Battlefield Studios
- Publisher(s)
- EA
WHERE TO PLAY
The ultimate all-out warfare experience. Fight in high-intensity infantry combat. Rip through the skies in aerial dogfights. Demolish your environment for a strategic advantage. Harness complete control over every action and movement using the Kinesthetic Combat System. In a war of tanks, fighter jets, and massive combat arsenals, the deadliest weapon is your squad. This is Battlefield 6.
MULTIPLAYER
Victory, however you envision it. Battlefield 6 has more ways to win than ever before. Seize glory in iconic, large-scale modes including Conquest, Breakthrough, and Rush. Jump into fast-paced action with King of the Hill, Domination, and Payload. Change the rules of war with the revamped and refined Battlefield Portal. Fight in iconic locations all over the world including Cairo, Brooklyn, Gibraltar and more.
GLOBAL SCALE CAMPAIGN
Campaign is back. Drive tanks across the Sahara. Storm the beaches of Gibraltar. Defend New York from invasion. Join an elite squad of Marine Raiders fighting relentlessly to save a world on the edge of collapse.
PORTAL
Redraw the lines of battle. Battlefield Portal is a massive sandbox where creators and players can push Battlefield to the limit. Take unprecedented control of your environment by moving, scaling, and duplicating objects. Create a completely unique game mode using NPC scripting and a customizable UI. Legendary Battlefield experiences are waiting to be created—show ‘em what you’re made of.
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- Via EA Account
- Franchise
- Battlefield
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- October 10, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 10, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- October 10, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 6 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 87.44 GB
