Battlefield 6’s Season 2 was recently pushed back by a month to give Battlefield Studios time to polish up its content. Now, the developer has revealed how it plans to use some of that time, and the first port of call is Battlefield Labs.
As discussed in the initial delay message, BF Studios wants the community’s involvement earlier and more consistently in the development of future content. This includes Season 2, of course, and a big component of what it’s bringing to the game is headed to Labs.
The first Battlefield Labs session kicking off soon will focus on Contaminated, one of the new maps coming to Battlefield 6 with Season 2. BF Studios says the map falls between Eastwood and Mirak Valley, in terms of size.
The blog post even likened it to Battlefield 1’s St. Quentin Scar, and Battlefield 5’s Arras. Although we’ve yet to actually play it, the size and description do sound really well, especially in a game as starved of big maps as Battlefield 6 currently is.
Another thing BF Studios wants to test is the way ground vehicle gameplay and aerial presence interact with infantry combat, which is pretty standard for most Battlefield maps. Interestingly, there appears to be some sort of mechanic unique to Contaminated that the developer also wants to evaluate.
More Labs sessions are planned, including one that will show off new gameplay tools and vehicles. The AH-6 Little Bird helicopter was specifically namedropped, which makes sense given that it’s going to be part of Season 2’s content.
Battlefield Labs sessions will also extend beyond the biggest-ticket items of maps and vehicles. BF Studios said we should expect tests of upcoming features, like the Aircraft Radar, as part of a list of other air combat updates.
Ground vehicles, and they way the various rockets interact with them, will also be evaluated in a different session, with specific adjustments planned for RPGs and TOWs. And, of course, the work to improve and perfect hit reg remains ongoing, and future tweaks will go through Labs first.
There’s even more exciting news for fans of big maps, as the blog post also confirmed that Battlefield 4’s Golmud Railway is currently in the works, planned to go live in a future season. Golmud Railway will show up early in Labs, and you can expect it to evolve over multiple sessions.
For context, when it does arrive in Battlefield 6, Golmud Railway will be the largest map in the game, which is saying something. Though the map is beloved by vehicle players, it has its issues elsewhere, and BF Studios says it will be looking at all that when it creates the BF6, emphasising that it won’t be a simple port of the BF4 original.
Finally, the post throws a bone to Redsec battle royale players still waiting for a Solo mode. BF Studios continues to test the idea internally, but it’s taking a while. Needless to say, there are so many aspects that need to be considered. Game pace, balance, player survivability, match flow just to name a few.
Redsec BR was built with squads in mind, so that task is extra challenging. Though the developer didn’t say when we can expect Solos to arrive in Labs, players will get a chance to experience it before it enters the live game.
