EA has shown off footage from the next Battlefield, as it strives to make improvements through a revamped test server. Since Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 2042 failed to meet sales expectations, there’s a lot riding on Battlefield 6 to course correct the entire franchise. EA seems aware of this too, with the next entry in the first person shooter series being developed by four studios in total – DICE, Motive, Criterion Games, and Ripple Effect – in a bid to make it a success.

In a new video, the four studios have outlined their roles on the next instalment, and revealed a first look at early gameplay footage. As detailed in the video, Battlefield 6 is being developed under the new ‘Battlefield Studios’ umbrella consisting of these four teams. DICE, the main developer of previous Battlefield games, is working on the multiplayer portion. Motive is creating multiplayer maps and ‘single-player mission content’, while Criterion is ‘mainly focused on single-player’.

Ripple Effect, meanwhile, is ‘working on an experience that is really going to open Battlefield up to a whole group of new players’ – which tracks with rumours of a battle royale spin-off to rival Call Of Duty Warzone. The end of the video shows a brief snippet of gameplay from Battlefield 6, which emphasises the destructible environments. Crucially though, the video is designed to announce Battlefield Labs, a revamped community testing program where registered players can test weapons, gadgets and other mechanics on a separate server before they launch in Battlefield 6. In other words, it’s a new version of the Community Test Environment last used in 2016’s Battlefield 1.

Testing for Battlefield Labs will go live in ‘the coming weeks’ but you can sign up on the official website now. The first tests will only be accessible to an invited group of players in Europe and North America, but EA plans to expand invites to other locations in the future. While this sounds like a positive step to avoid repeating the disastrous launch of Battlefield 2042, it’s still unclear if Battlefield 6 will launch this year. It’s described as being in the ‘pre-alpha’ stage, which would normally suggest a final launch is a long way off.

Vince Zampella, head of Respawn and general manager of EA Studios (and co-creator of Call Of Duty), said: ‘I’ve been playing Battlefield long before I joined the team. This game has so much potential. ‘To find that potential, with us being pre-alpha, now is the time to test the experiences our teams have been building for our upcoming launch. Battlefield Labs empowers our teams to do that.’. Previous rumours have suggested Battlefield 6 is set to launch in 2025, but with this new test server, that might depend on the feedback from players.

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