- Battlefield 6 is getting its biggest map yet as part of the Season 3 launch today
- Railway to Golmud is a reimiagining of the Battlefield 4 map Golmud Railway
- "Everyone was excited about having the opportunity to bring that iconic map back to Battlefield 6," a developer said
Battlefield 6 Season 3 arrives today and introduces a wealth of new content, including the biggest map the game has seen so far.
Railway to Golmud is an expansive reimaging of the fan-favorite Golmud Railway from Battlefield 4. Although it will be very familiar to long-time series fans, the map's setting has been moved from rural China to Tajikistan in order to more closely tie in with the most recent game's narrative, and the layout has been subtly tweaked.
In a recent interview with TechRadar Gaming, executive producer Philippe Ducharme explained that the map's inclusion and these changes were driven by player feedback. He described fans crying out for larger maps back at launch, calling them "part of the DNA" of the series.
"It was important to be able to bring one of the favorites that delivers that all-out warfare experience in a super large size map with a long range of engagement," he said.
"But also places where you can have close-quarter combat zones, or some sections to really go into the close-distance encounters in places like the village. For us, Golmud was checking these boxes and, when we looked at it with the team, everyone was excited about having the opportunity to bring that iconic map back to Battlefield 6."
Work in progress
The map has been tested extensively in Battlefield Labs with "very positive" overall feedback, but a few pain points that needed to be ironed out in order to make it work well in Battlefield 6.
"We revisited the terrain, for instance, to have a little bit more of a hilly terrain, not to have the super long sight lines everywhere. We have more coverage to try to balance out long-term engagements and provide a little bit more of an opportunity to hide from those pesky snipers," he revealed.
The team also received complaints that the airspace was too limited from players who like to pilot vehicles, which resulted in it being expanded.
Ducharme added that the team is always on the lookout for feedback and carefully monitors player data in order to detect problems.
"The worst error we can make as a dev is to drink our own Kool-Aid and say, 'yeah, it's all right. People are just complaining,' he argued. "We have to keep an open mind."
"When there are complaints, our job is to look at data and make sure they are justified," he added. "There's feedback that's always louder, but we want to validate it with data to make sure that it's not just the loud players that are coming out on top."
Battlefield 6 is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.
