EA Lets Players Blow Things Up Real Good in Battlefield 6 (And Use Godot to Edit Maps)
The Battlefield series of games are known for their destructible environments. Now, the latest mainline entry into the franchise is about to go into Open Beta so gamers can get a good look at just how impressively everything explodes this time around. EA has also revealed new game details involving multiplayer, and Portal – a User Generated Content editor for players, that looks to use Godot as its framework.
Battlefield 6 is set in 2027, with NATO in pieces after a high-profile assasination. A private army with cutting edge tech and limitless resources, PAX ARMATA, steps into the chaos. This is the world players will find themselves in once the game launches in October.
“I’ve worked on a lot of titles over the years and can confidently say that Battlefield 6 is something special,” said Vince Zampella, Executive Vice President. “We can’t wait to show more of Battlefield 6’s intense tactical combat and epic warfare in the months to come, leading up to its release on October 10.”
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Explode Everything
Battlefield 1942 kicked the franchise off in 2002, but it wasn’t until 2008’s Battlefield: Bad Company that the game incorporated fully destructible environments; the series’ hallmark. Battlefield 6 is actually the franchise’s seventeenth game (not including DLC) and looks to ramp up everything gamers have come to expect.
A remix of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” soundtracks the multiplayer trailer, and it couldn’t be a more on the nose needle drop, given how much destruction can be caused. Topple buildings, destroy bridge supports – the options to literally level the battlefield are extensive. Of course, this doesn’t mean much if players can’t play it the way they prefer, which is why the class system returns with a few tweaks.
Players can choose between Assault, Recon, Support, and Engineer roles, and now have access to a new Kinesthetic Combat System. This includes the ability to Drag and Revive teammates, and brace weapons against walls to reduce recoil.
Global Maps And Beta Tests
Battlefield 6 will ship with a single player campaign, but the focus is always on multiplayer. In this case, maps cover countries and cities as diverse as Egypt, Gibraltar and New York. Popular multiplayer modes return, including Breakthrough, Conquest, and Rush.
Classic options like Team Deathmatch, Squad Deathmatch, Domination, and King of the Hill are also covered. A new mode that sounds remarkably like Domination is called Escalation, and tasks two teams with capturing control points.
“We knew when we set out to create the future of Battlefield, we had to nail the fundamentals of what players have loved about the series for more than 20 years,” said Byron Beede, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Battlefield.
“We’re back in our all-out warfare playground, with four world-class teams developing the game as a single squad known as Battlefield Studios. Criterion, DICE, Motive, and Ripple Effect have put their heart and soul into this nextBattlefield and we’re thrilled to have shared our first look with you today and can’t wait to see you playing next weekend during the Open Beta.”
The Open Beta runs from Aug. 9 – 10 and then from Aug. 14 – 17. Gamers can get access across all major platforms (PlayStation, Xbox, and PC) by signing up with EA. This won’t be the first time fans of Battlefield can help shape the state of the game, either, as EA runs Battlefield Labs, a kind of free quality assurance playtest program open to everyone.
Battlefield Portal
One of the most interesting factors of the new Battlefield title is Portal, a built-in level editor. This debuted in Battlefield 2042 but now it’s back and upgraded, with the most noticeable change being that it uses Godot.
The Battlefield games have used EA’s proprietary Frostbite engine since Bad Company, so this shift to Godot – a free, open source game engine – is a surprising one. There’s no official word yet from EA as to why or how the Godot framework has been tailored to Battlefield. But, it’s a safe bet that it’ll act as a stripped-down version with focus on whatever EA wants players to have the ability to do, rather than what Godot is fully capable of.
Regarding this, Portal allows players to create their own content based on existing maps, which EA calls “Community Experiences.” The idea is to use Portal to keep content fresh through regular game updates.
“I love live service, and I think it’s the most fun to work on as a developer because of how you can build a game with your players,” said EA President Andrew Wilson, in a recent earnings call. “We want to make sure right from launch that we start that sort of seasonal journey with our players, and the idea is to deliver ongoing, evolving experiences inside of Battlefield 6.”
