There has been a lot of positive reception surrounding Battlefield 6, and most of it is due to how familiar it feels to some past successes. Some fans might have the opinion that nostalgia mongering isn’t the right path.
After everything that Battlefield has been through, it’s a good idea for the game to return to its roots. In fact, this might just be enough to save the FPS genre and revive the franchise to its glory days. At least that’s how we feel while seeing the beta.
Battlefield 6 is a Return to Form For the Franchise
Before Battlefield 6, the video game industry have seen the rise of remakes and remasters of titles dating back to the early 2000s. The interesting aspect to consider here is that most of these remakes have been received quite well within the player base. While there have been new games that have also received a lot of praise, hitting the nostalgia factor seems to be a shot at guaranteed success.
EA and Battlefield Studios are doing something similar, but instead of remaking an older title, the companies are playing it safe by developing Battlefield 6 in a way that looks and feels a lot like Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. There’s no question that Battlefield 4 was the last game that hit the pinnacle of what this franchise has to offer, and has gone downhill since then, especially with Battlefield 5 and Battlefield 2042. We’re going to ignore the Secure Boot issue for now.
Battlefield 6 features a close resemblance to Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4, with similar gunplay, vehicle combat, a class-based system, and boots on the ground military aspect. There are no futuristic weapons or settings that are treading the lines of nuclear warfare or an apocalypse. The gameplay showcase made it clear to the players that the setting will be modern-day military, with gameplay and visuals that players will be able to correlate with reality.
This is something that players have wanted for years, which has hyped up the game even two months before its release. The improvement in Battlefield’s classic destructible environment and the addition of community creations simply act as the cherry on top. All this puts Battlefield 6 in a position where it will compete against some of the best games in the franchise.
You might feel that is not a good thing, but numbers speak quite differently. Battlefield 4 was released in 2013, and that game still manages over 6,000 concurrent players on Steam daily. If you compare it to Battlefield 2042, which was released in 2021, it barely manages 10,000 players on Steam. While the Battlefield 4 numbers are lower, the fact that it’s in closing distance to a much newer title speaks volumes about player interests.
The path that EA and Battlefield Studios have chosen with Battlefield 6 is the correct one, and it finally feels like the franchise is back once again. Traditionally, Battlefield has always had the upper hand when released alongside Call of Duty, but that took a hit when Battlefield V and 2042 were released. However, with Battlefield 6, it’s quite likely that EA will have the last laugh, especially with players being way more excited about this game than the upcoming Black Ops 7.
Games like Call of Duty and Apex Legends Hurt the Development of the FPS Genre
Ever since Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was released, the entire genre has been pushing for future warfare. Too many games, including titles like Apex Legends, have tried to focus on hero shooters where one person has special powers and they are trying to be the difference.
In fact, games like Black Ops 3, Black Ops 4, and even Battlefield 2042 tried to dive into the concept of a hero, where one person with special abilities changes the day. However, that is not how military shooters are should be. Military shooters should make you feel like you’re part of a team, an army, where everyone fights together with the same advantages or differences with classes.
There’s a reason why the original Modern Warfare series from Call of Duty is so dear to players. The characters that were introduced felt like they were always part of a team. At the end of the day, everyone in those games was a human who was risking their lives to fight against a common enemy.
The moment you introduce futuristic and heroic elements to military shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield, the feeling of risk and reward is lost. This is because the game starts feeling like a Marvel movie where one person with superpowers saves the day, instead of an army or a team risking their lives to protect a country.
The FPS genre slowly became boring and tedious, where every Call of Duty game started hitting timelines like the 2040s, 2050s, or even further. In such a setting, players are looking at weapons that don’t even exist, and at that point, you’re asking yourself the question of whether you should keep playing Call of Duty, or switch to Halo and Destiny 2, which are designed around the whole space shooter idea.
The worst part here is that Call of Duty hasn’t tried to change its formula for a while now. Every game in the franchise pretty much feels like it’s been copied from the previous one. The same can be said about the Modern Warfare reboot, where players really loved the first one, but Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Modern Warfare 3 (2023) felt like the same games with worse execution.
When combined with a consistent annual release, the fatigue among players has reached a tipping point. Everybody wants either a change or to go back to the past, when FPS games were the crowning jewel of the gaming community. As of 2025, I don’t think Call of Duty can make any changes that will bring back the glory days.
Battlefield 6 has Resisted the Fortnite Effect
Battlefield 6’s design director has confirmed that they don’t want skins that don’t suit the theme of the game. This is a massive decision, considering the fact that its rival, Call of Duty, has completely given in to collaborations and over-the-top skins. The problem is that watching Lionel Messi or Nicki Minaj run around with a Sniper doesn’t really fit a military shooter.
Battlefield 6 wants to go back to its roots, where ground-based combat is rooted in the modern era. The developer will be focusing on realistic weapons, vehicles, and gameplay that will strictly adhere to the real-world military. As such, the decision not to include out-of-place skins where the game looks like Fortnite is a welcome one among the player base.
You have to understand, Fortnite by itself isn’t doing anything wrong, as it’s a free-to-play game and collaborations help fund development. However, Call of Duty and Battlefield cost over $50 for the base editions, and both of these titles sell quite a bit. Due to this, selling collaboration skins that look out of place feels extremely greedy.
While it’s tough to say as of now if EA will stick to their principles and promises when it comes to their upcoming military shooter, the signs are definitely promising. If Battlefield 6 ends up delivering and the promises made by the developers are included in the game, this one nostalgia mongering might just end up saving the FPS genre.
