In Battlefield 6 maps are among the most important and discussed content. Are they too small? Do they play too quickly? Are there exploits? Every map is scrutinized by the community. Therefore, we spoke with Battlefield producer Philipp Girette about the most important building block of the Battlefield experience.
Who is the developer? Our interview partner is Philipp Girette. He is the seasons producer for Battlefield 6 and thus responsible for the content of new seasons. He works with various teams that are responsible for vehicles, weapons, or maps.
What’s up with the German houses in Battlefield 6? In Season 2, Battlefield 6 received two maps set in Germany: Contaminated and Hagental Base. On Contaminated, there are some residential houses. However, these are made from thin walls, like from papier-mâché, and not from sturdy masonry, as we are accustomed to from German craftsmanship.
We asked Phil why this is the case and why we didn’t get authentic German buildings.
That’s why there are no sturdy German houses: As Phil explained, the developers’ focus with the buildings is that you can extensively destroy them during matches. Therefore, the houses must not be too sturdy.
MeinMMO: How long do you typically work on a map before it is classified as “finished”?
“Every map takes its time and has its own timeline. Sometimes the vision becomes clear quickly, all teams click, and things move along faster. Other times we try to incorporate new features or mechanics, or it takes longer for the map to play well and smoothly.”
MeinMMO: Is there a kind of checklist for what a map must have so that all player types in BF6 are satisfied, and if so, what does it look like?
“In most cases, we focus on a very specific style or fantasy per map.
For Season 2, “Contaminated”, for example, is the map for “All Out Warfare”, which is the classic Battlefield experience where infantry, vehicles, and both outdoor and indoor fights meet. The map is larger and more open, offering a lot of freedom for all classes to contribute to the fight. The conquest flags and their surroundings also each have their own little story.
Hagental Base, on the other hand, is more of a homage to Operation: Metro or Locker. From the beginning, the goal was to create a tight underground map where infantry and constant firefights are in the foreground. The community often refers to it as a “meat grinder”, where flanking and destruction are essential.”
MeinMMO: At what point in the design of a map do you decide which vehicles can be played on it, and how does the decision-making process look? Has the decision changed during the development of a map?
“The choice of vehicles is made early on, especially when it comes to jets, boats, or similarly large vehicles. In the various categories (e.g., transport or helicopter), the decisions often change based on feedback from playtests or to make room if the season introduces new vehicles, like the Little Bird.
After the launch in October, we tried to incorporate as much feedback as possible into “Contaminated”. Among other things, the map was made larger, and we worked hard to include jets as well. It was a big undertaking that ultimately did not play well enough, and the jets would have eaten the Little Bird for breakfast as well.”
MeinMMO: How does the international community react to German maps compared to local players?
“It has been a long time since the last map set in Germany. We are aware that Battlefield has a very large and important community in Germany. Overall, with the narrative in BF6, the conflict between NATO and Pax Armata, and the new content in Season 2, we were very glad that Germany fits in well and that we can give something back to this community.
In international comparisons, players are more concerned about us creating good, large maps and covering the biomes and experiences (e.g., naval) that have not yet existed in the game.”
MeinMMO: The architecture of the residential houses on “Contaminated” resembles German houses very little. Wouldn’t it be important to pay attention to such details in map design for authenticity and immersion?
“Contaminated is set in southern Germany. Our map teams do research accordingly and are always happy when something local and special can be built. We have a few people from the south on the team who also provide feedback. Most buildings are focused on being nice and completely destructible.”
MeinMMO: When you “rebuild” a real location like Manhattan Bridge, this is not balanced for shootings in reality. How do you “bend” reality to ensure good gameplay flow?
“These tasks usually fall to different teams, such as Level Design and Level Art. The graphic artists work to make a map look as good as possible, with assets, lighting, vegetation, and more. This usually takes from very early on in the map to the last chance to make it look better right up to the last milestone.
At the same time, the designers work on a so-called “blockout”. They use gray-colored standard building blocks to work on flow and balance. Everything is intentionally kept as a placeholder so that it does not distract from the balance. Only much later do we replace the blocks with real assets.”
MeinMMO: What is the biggest technical challenge in building new maps?
“Outstanding performance is essential in a multiplayer shooter, and we place great value on that. It’s a difficult and constant balance to get as much out of the engine and assets as possible while remaining performant.
The size of the maps, 64 players at the same time, vehicles, explosions, and total destruction do not make it easier. It’s a process we constantly work on and have set high goals for ourselves.”
MeinMMO: How intensely is a new map tested before it is released to prevent major bugs?
“Our map teams have their own testing department that tests all changes every day. This is complemented by daily tests with all teams and developers, as well as labs. All systems of the game come together on our maps, and even the smallest changes can have an impact on a completely different end.
Bugs and issues that make maps or game modes unplayable are quickly identified and remedied swiftly. For errors such as items floating a few centimeters above the ground, we generally focus on more important elements.
We could endlessly tweak our maps and would always find something that could be improved or fixed. In most cases, we do, prioritizing the feedback we receive from our players.“
MeinMMO: What are your first thoughts when a map suddenly becomes “unplayable” because players reach areas they should never reach or play the map in ways that were never intended?
“For us, it’s a matter of time as to how quickly players figure out how to gain an advantage or exploit certain glitches. Almost all teams have their eyes on it, and they start working together to combat the “exploits”. However, these are often complex and tricky to solve or hide deeply in multiple systems. Sometimes, you just have to laugh when an entire tank teleports through a wall or squeezes into an elevator.”
MeinMMO: What is your personal point of interest of all maps in Battlefield 6?
“My personal highlight is Siege of Cairo and the central intersection with the bus and the small hole underneath. No matter how many hundreds of hours I get shot at in crossfire or blown up by grenades, I just can’t help but crawl around there as support or recon. But when I need a color change, I like to play Contaminated and hide among the trees.”
During Season 2, we spoke with Phil in an interview. He explained to us why we do not get countless old maps like Operation Métro, Arica Harbor, Siege of Shanghai or Caspian Border as reworks. You can read the interview with Phil’s answers here: The developer of Battlefield 6 tells us in the interview why it is not as easy to bring back old maps as you might think
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