Electronic Arts has confirmed that the next Battlefield title will arrive by March 31, 2026, at the latest, and a full public reveal is scheduled for this summer. The announcement came as part of EA's most recent financial report and shows the company's confidence in the franchise's future. EA CEO Andrew Wilson described the upcoming game as "a pivotal step in defining our next generation of blockbuster entertainment." His comments signal the publisher's intention to rebuild goodwill after fan disappointment with Battlefield 2042. Closed testing began in March under strict non‑disclosure agreements, but a significant amount of gameplay footage has nonetheless appeared online. In response, developer DICE announced plans to expand the trial in May by inviting additional participants from Europe, North America and Asia. Players who wish to join the tests may still register through the official Battlefield website.

During this extended phase, DICE will concentrate on fine‑tuning fundamental gameplay systems. Key focus areas include balancing weapon archetypes, adjusting damage values, refining movement mechanics and pacing the flow of combat. The team will also continue to evaluate destructible objects—such as barricades, vehicles and buildings—across multiple map environments. These tests aim to ensure that world destruction feels both dramatic and fair, allowing players to use terrain changes to their tactical advantage. Further community updates will delve into the roles of individual classes and the full scope of the all‑out War Mode later this year. EA has adopted a more transparent development process than it did for its previous release, sharing frequent insights and responding directly to player feedback. Four internal studios—collectively known as Battlefield Studios—are collaborating on this project. DICE is leading the multiplayer experience, Motive is creating both multiplayer maps and single‑player missions, Criterion is focused on the solo campaign and Ripple Effect is developing a brand‑new series component.

The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI is such a hotly anticipated game launch that Corsair seems to think the game's PC launch will have a noticeable effect on the sales of gaming hardware and peripherals. Some fans have even speculated that 2K was planning the launch of Borderlands 4—itself a sequel to a massively popular franchise—around the expected launch of GTA VI. While this was previously mere speculation, comments from publishers lend credence to this theory. According to The Game Business, as many as three major game publishers have said that they are preparing to shift their game launches so that they don't get completely overshadowed by the launch of GTA VI.

The unnamed studios specifically called out GTA VI in their comments, with concerns ranging from gamers spending all their time and money on GTA VI to the new GTA title simply dominating the news cycle and making other games fall through the cracks. Several live-service game developers also commented that they would be delaying any updates to their games, with one suggesting a three-to-four week window would be the expected safe zone for most developers. It should be noted that this "safe zone" is both before and after the expected release of GTA VI, so there may be a wave of games and updates just before and just after GTA VI. While GTA VI wasn't directly mentioned, EA CEO, Andrew Wilson, has previously stated that "some things happening in the year that may cause us to think differently about our launch timing," specifically talking about the launch of Battlefield 6, which is currently slated for release before the end of Q1 2026.

The upcoming "Battlefield 6" would mark a "soft-reboot" of the franchise in a modern-era setting; much like "Battlefield 3" was, according to Tom Henderson, a reliable source with leaks related to the franchise. He predicts that the game could even be titled simply "Battlefield" (not to be confused with "Battlefield 1"). The game (if it includes a campaign), could have a modern mechanized warfare setting, and be a marked departure from the historic (or pseudo-historic) plots of "Battlefield 1" and "Battlefield V."

Much like how Activision is handling various game modes with its latest releases of "Call of Duty," the next Battlefield could include a dedicated Battle Royale mode that's more evolved than simply being a gameplay mode within its Multiplayer. The main Multiplayer could build on the modes Battlefield perfected, including large PvP conquests with up to 128 players on the PC platform (fewer players on consoles).

EA late last week confirmed that the studio is working on the next chapter in the "Battlefield" franchise, unsurprisingly titled "Battlefield VI." What remains to be seen is the production design, whether EA DICE sticks to its formula of making the next Battlefield a AAA set-piece and technology demonstrator, much like how BFV was among the first games with real-time raytracing, although the mandate from EA CEO appears to favor a "truly next-gen" approach. Pressure from EA's bean-counters will also ride heavy on DICE to make at least one of the components of the game to be e-sports optimized, and feature a battle royale multiplayer mode. We predict the implementation could be similar to the current Call of Duty, which features a nested "Warzone" mode in addition to a AAA campaign experience. EA DICE is targeting a Holiday 2021 tentative release for "Battlefield VI."Update 08:17 UTC: Apparently the image above is fan-art. EA did not reveal any details about the premise of the game.