Given Battlefield 6's staggering XP requirements and lengthy challenges, it's no surprise that tons of players, myself included, have turned to Portal to find like-minded individuals who are also grinding out the tasks. It's not ideal — I know most of these players would rather set up a full XP-rewarding match versus bots and go at it alone, but you take what you can get when you're met with non-stop error messages saying "Global Game Quota Exceeded." Battlefield Studios is aware of the issues, though, and promised some vague changes to the system in a recent Battlefield 6 community update.
Well, thanks to a visual bug my nephew and I encountered just after this week's update, I think I know where Battlefield 6 is going with its next update: paid servers. The update went live just as my brother-in-law once again attempted (in vain) to set up a private server so he and my nephew — both Battlefield superfans — could quickly unlock some new gear on the family PlayStation 5. At that moment, the title of one of the more notable Portal XP farm experiences reverted to a string of numbers, and the two familiar options of "Browse Servers" and "Host" became one single option: the option to purchase.
Battlefield 6 Might Let Players Purchase Server Slots Soon
As someone who covers Battlefield 6 quite a bit these days, the option threw my family and I for a loop. Particularly because I'd already read the community update on social media, shared it with them, and was confident it mentioned nothing about the option to purchase a server. It was also confusing because the option didn't clarify exactly what we had the option to purchase: was it the actual player-made Portal experience or the rights to a dedicated server to play it on? No clarity ever came, though, as the new button didn't work, regardless of how many times we selected it.
We backed out of that menu to search for the experience again, and to turn on the new player-created content option, but upon returning to the portal search feature, it had reverted to normal, as if nothing had ever happened. I immediately kicked myself for not managing to snag a screenshot, but once I finished doing that, I flew to social media and the official Battlefield website for any clues as to what just happened. I haven't managed to find anything yet, but based on this experience, my family and I have some convictions about what's next for our favorite franchise.
The purchase option showing up feels like it can't be a coincidence, and frankly, we hope it wasn't. The "Global Game Quota Exceeded" message has plagued our time with Battlefield 6 since launch, and we've each mentioned that a return to the server browser system set up in Battlefield 4 would be an excellent change. Thanks to the brief appearance of the option to seemingly buy a server slot, it feels like there's a real chance that such a system could be in the works for the latest Battlefield game — though by no means is it set in stone.
Battlefield 6's Visual Bug Isn't a Guarantee of Paid Servers
Despite our collective excitement at the possibility of a guaranteed private server in the near future, I am trying to manage expectations for myself, and I'll do the same for anyone reading this. Seeing that option in the actual game feels like a serious hint, but it's no guarantee. The teams working the game may simply be experimenting with options at this point, trying to determine the best way to address Battlefield 6's server capacity issues. Purchasing a server may be just one of the many avenues Battlefield Studios is currently exploring. Alternatively, perhaps it is an idea BF Studios had at one point but later scrapped in favor of the current approach to servers being tied exclusively to Portal, and an odd bug briefly showed me a prompt caused by some leftover code.
Still, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that Battlefield Studios is planning to add dedicated, buyable servers soon, as they have always been something appreciated by hardcore fans. It's also worth noting that server capacity isn't the only problem with Battlefield 6 Portal mode at the moment. In fact, the update was just as focused on the XP element of Portal as it was the capacity issue; the actual patch that went live in-game was primarily to ease XP and challenge requirements. Private servers could address both the XP and capacity issues in one fell swoop.
The statement released alongside the patch said BF Studios is planning "adjustments that are intended to diminish the number of XP farms taking up server space," and purchasable server slots would go hand-in-hand with that goal.
No Matter What, Battlefield Studios Is Paying Attention to Server Capacity Issues
Ultimately, the takeaway from this is that Battlefield 6's players shouldn't have to wait too long for something that'll make creating their own experiences — no matter what they might be — a bit easier. That can only be a good thing for those who've struggled with what is otherwise a fantastic new system in Battlefield 6. Given what my family and I saw in-game, I know what I think the solution is based on the "purchase" option I saw in-game, but it's always a good idea to hedge your bets.
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
