Battlefield Studios is wearing its biggest inspirations on its sleeves. The next entry in the storied franchise, the freshly unveiled Battlefield 6, has made it very clear that it’s borrowing liberally from its greatest hits to embrace a contemporary setting. And based on what we’ve played so far, it’s doing so with great success.
But while the developer repeatedly mentioned that this new game is a spiritual sequel to 2011’s Battlefield 3 and 2013’s Battlefield 4, there is another, more recent game in the series that will have a noticeable effect on the new game’s presentation. Jeremy Chubb, a producer at DICE says 2016’s Battlefield 1 is still the gold standard for how to craft the world of EA’s multiplayer shooter.
As fondly remembered as Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 are, they are technically relics of a different era. Chubb told Inverse that it wasn’t until Battlefield 1 that DICE felt as if they were nailing the modern slickness the series is known for.
“Battlefield is about pure immersion, it’s the sound, the spectacle, the visual experience,” he said. “Battlefield 3 and 4, they’re early games. The hardware they ran on was a limiting factor.”
Battlefield 3 was a visual benchmark for its time, one that holds up surprisingly well 14 years later. The console versions of the game, while very fun, could never replicate what was possible on high-end PCs of the time. Battlefield 4 was a PS4 and Xbox One launch title, meaning DICE was still getting acquainted with the then-new tech. When the franchise would return with a proper mainline entry two years later, however, there was a noticeable difference in fidelity.
For this reason, the WWI shooter still lives in the hearts of the people making Battlefield 6. Battlefield 1’s sense of scale and immersion is something Battlefield Studios is actively aspiring towards.
“I loved BF1. It absolutely nailed the atmosphere, and the grounded, gritty, realistic nature of the game,” Chubb says. “I really hope people will say that about [Battlefield 6].”
Battlefield 1 is widely regarded as the last great game in the series. At a time when people were sick of the futuristic direction Call of Duty had taken, Battlefield presented the ultimate throwback in military shooters. It delivered a memorable campaign set during a conflict rarely represented in gaming, and a multiplayer suite that felt true to the series.
This refocus on presenting a worthwhile campaign experience and a multiplayer suite that delivers exactly what fans have been waiting for is part of the reason why this new game is going back to the numbered naming convention. While Chubb acknowledges Battlefield 2042 as an ambitious swing, he says the team understood that reinventing the wheel wasn’t what the fans wanted.
“For this game, we really wanted to get back to what made Battlefield great in the first place,” he said. “Returning to that felt like continuity.”
It’s what made making Battlefield 6 a little easier to produce compared to its direct predecessor.
“Right from the start, we knew exactly what to do,” Chubb explained. “We knew that it was about the return to open sandbox, heavily focused on destruction, aerial combat vehicles, ground-based infantry, and classes.”
Battlefield 6 is a much-needed reset for the series that we adored during our two days with the game. It won’t be very long before everyone can try the game out for themselves, either. An open beta for Battlefield 6 begins August 9 and 10. The beta will also be playable August 14 through 17. Players can begin preloading the beta across all digital platforms today.
