In the predecessor of Battlefield 6, DICE made an attempt to increase player numbers and offer even larger battles. This did not go as planned, and many condemned the change – with the upcoming shooter release, this is not supposed to happen.
What change is being referred to? Battlefield 2042 was known as a flop, and this was due to many decisions that strayed from the core of the shooter series. One of these decisions involved the possible player counts, as it was increased from 64 to 128 players per match. The doubling could be attributed to the size of the maps, which were gigantic compared to other titles in the Battlefield series.
Unfortunately, this did not change the fact that the matches felt empty, and players had to run for minutes until the next confrontation. The developers have learned from their mistakes and are now discussing what you can expect in Battlefield 6.
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
What do the developers say about the decision? The Design Director Shashank Uchil gave an interview to Edge Magazine (via Gamesradar) for issue 415 and shared details about Battlefield 6. The discussion mostly revolved around what learnings the team could take from the predecessor and which features have been modified for the successor.
The match sizes are one of these changes, as the team has realized thanks to your feedback that 128 players are not suitable for the shooter: “Look, we try things out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s that simple.”
He further stated: “We thought that a larger number of players would work – but it just didn’t catch on. It’s like when a band tries out a new sound. We like it, but the players don’t – and ultimately we are subordinate to the players. We do what the players want.”
Reddit is cited as the best source of feedback, according to Shashank Uchil. Many of the developers would use the platform to find out what the players want.
Reddit is not the only outlet that the developers listen to: Christian Grass, the General Manager of Ripple Effect, also briefly contributed to the interview and clarified that feedback given at home on PC or console is also taken into account. According to Uchil, “Battlefield players are very vocal.” So if something doesn’t sit well with them, the developers will quickly notice.
Do you think it’s good that DICE has reduced the player limit per match to 64 players, or do you prefer rounds with up to 128 players? We’d love to hear your opinion in the comments. You can find more about Battlefield 6 here: Battlefield 6 weakens important feature after beta feedback: “Players were only shooting at Doritos”
