The pre-release discussion surrounding Battlefield 6 is now in full swing, with attention around the franchise firmly moving away from the up-and-down life-cycle of 2042 and towards the next ambitious steps for the longstanding series. Early rumors and reports have offered glimpses of what kind of experience BF6 will bring for some time now, yet recent developments regarding the game’s large-scale playtesting have opened up a whole new world of information around the project.
While there are some elements of Battlefield 6 that are entirely new additions to the franchise, it is no secret that DICE is aiming to recapture the classic themes and experiences of prior games like BF3 and BF4, while moving away from the more divisive mechanics of Battlefield 2042. The recently leaked gameplay footage of BF6‘s early playtesting has offered a fantastic insight into this, with the project seemingly doing an excellent job at carrying forward the IP’s legacy of excellent sound design.
Related
Battlefield 6 Having a Mostly New Development Team Could Be a Blessing or a Curse
Recent reports suggest that Battlefield 6’s development team has a lot of fresh faces, with this being an ambitious make-or-break approach from DICE.
Battlefield 6’s Sound Design Seems to Honor the Franchise’s Most Successful Titles
The Battlefield franchise has done well over the years to consistently stamp its presence in the highly competitive industry of first-person shooters, with the IP arguably being the only other major shooter series to directly contend with Activision’s Call of Duty. 2025 is rare in that it is set to see the launch of a brand-new Battlefield and Call of Duty release, with DICE seemingly pulling out all the stops to dial things back to the winning formula of fan-favorite prior releases such as 2011’s Battlefield 3.
Battlefield has remained so popular thanks to its complex portrayal of large-scale warfare. Its chaotic land, sea, and air battles and interactive environments make for an experience that is quite removed from other major franchises like CoD. These all combine to foster a fantastic sense of immersion within Battlefield‘s multiplayer, and the consistently responsive sound design of the franchise’s entries have played a huge role in reinforcing this aspect of the series.
Across all classic Battlefield games, the painstaking sound design of character screams, explosions, and bullets flying all within different types of environments has always been shared and proudly displayed, and it seems that Battlefield 6 is not shying away from its own impressive audio. For example, it is confirmed that BF6 is aiming to emulate the likes of BF3 through a return to things like 64-player matches, smaller maps, a more grounded modern-day setting, and sound quality.
As well as these changes, Battlefield 6 is seemingly moving away from the divisive operators of BF2042 in favor of more generic and realistic player characters, which is another big win for fans of the more traditional Battlefield experience.
Battlefield 6’s Sound Design Stole the Show Throughout Recent Playtesting
To keep fan feedback at the heart of BF6‘s development, DICE is currently hosting the most rigorous early playtesting of any title in Battlefield‘s history. Recently leaked gameplay footage of this early build of the game is a testament to its BF3 and BF4 inspirations. Many fans were quick to praise the visceral sound design showcased throughout the footage, taking such a high level of sound design in such an early build of the game as a great sign for its eventual quality at launch.
While Battlefield 2042‘s loudest criticisms concerned things like its over-extended maps and lack of staple features around the time of its launch, the sound design for the title also received its fair share of negative sentiment. A return to the perceived “golden age” of Battlefield would not be complete without a level of sound design that can rival the best BF entries of the past, and Battlefield 6 thankfully seems to already be making good progress in this department.
- Released
-
November 19, 2021
- ESRB
-
M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Publisher(s)
-
Electronic Arts