The next Battlefield game—referred to unofficially as Battlefield 6—is currently holding an early beta and despite players having to sign an NDA to participate, footage has leaked online. Encouragingly, the reactions are overwhelmingly positive as players seem excited about new features, details, and the return to the modern combat seen in past entries.
After the disastrous 2021 launch of Battlefield 2042 and the poor sales of Battlefield V in 2018, the long-running FPS war franchise was in rough shape. Fans weren’t sure what to expect next and many wished the series would return to the class-based, modern combat glory days of Battlefield 2, 3, and 4. And that seems to be exactly what’s happening, judging by leaked gameplay from the next Battlefield.
Last week, EA and Dice launched the game’s first playtest as part of Battlefield Labs, an ongoing testing program designed to help the studios working on the sequel get lots of feedback early, hopefully leading to a better, more successful online FPS. The tests are supposed to be closed and players were forced to sign NDAs forbidding them from sharing any gameplay. But then, of course, a ton of players broke those NDAs and posted clips on Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter.
Some of these clips show new features and details not seen before in the series, and a result they have gone viral in the Battlefield community. One clip reveals that players will be able to grab downed comrades and drag them behind cover to heal them and get them back in the fight. This is something other military shooters have done and fans have wanted it in Battlefield for some time now.
Another popular clip showed a player getting shot by a powerful sniper rifle and being sent flying back. This is new and makes snipers even scarier to face. Players are impressed by the level of destruction seen in some leaks, too.
The other thing people seem happy about is less specific and more of just a general vibe from these leaks that seems to indicate that the next Battlefield game, which still has a wide release window of fiscal 2026, is looking a lot like a next-gen evolution of Battlefield 3 and 4. The combat looks more grounded and modern, unlike that in 2042. Even the UI elements and HUD seem ripped out of BF4. And I’m excited to report that classes seem to play very differently from each other, harkening back to the older games in the franchise.
There’s a lot of excitement around the leaks, which probably explains why EA seems to be looking the other way and not removing them. Some have remained on Reddit for days now, despite bringing in thousands of upvotes, views, and comments. I also wonder if EA understands better than other companies that removing leaked content sometimes just makes it spread further and gain more views as people seek out forbidden knowledge.
But to be clear, EA doesn’t like people leaking content, at least officially. One developer, replying to leaked footage of someone dragging an injured teammate away from combat, clarified that he is “not okay” with the leaks. He also warned players that EA plans to deal with them “accordingly.”
So expect these leaks to be removed…eventually. Probably. Just, maybe after a few more days of positive press and fan hype, something the Battlefield franchise has been lacking for years now.
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