Electronic Arts (EA) has indeed announced the arrival of Battlefield RedSec as the long-rumored and soon-to-be-released free-to-play Battle Royale for the AAA action shooter Battlefield 6. Tomorrow, 28 October, at the launch of the first full Season 1 content update for the game, this revelation further follows months of speculation and intense closed playtest runs, placing RedSec among the stars of big free-to-play shooter services across every major console and PC platform.
It has been an open secret about the planned Battle Royale mode for the latest iteration of Battlefield for close to a year during which many have speculated about its presence inspired by the great popularity of such “battle royale” modes in rival franchises. The first hints that the mode exists come from DICE early this year, followed by inklings of gameplay hitting the internet from leaks during closed testing called Battlefield Labs session-it being conducted in the most private way possible. Until now, the firm has held its silence in public about a release window, yet reliable industry insiders previously hinted at a process of rapid, surprise release, which has now come to be as the official one-day announcement preceded launch.
Prior to this hurried notice, the dev team revealed a few of their major design changes as a result of feedback from players; DICE altered the close-range time-to-kill (TTK) for all weapons as a result of feedback regarding close-quarters combat, and they enhance the reward for skillful positioning and tracking and give players a larger window through which they can counter incoming attacks. In addition, the core armor capacity for survivability has changed as the value was increased from one to two, implying a major shift toward longer, tactical engagements in Battle Royale.
At 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 3 pm GMT, the first-ever Battlefield RedSec will kick off and be opened to all users regardless of subscription for the premium version of the game on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Included in the list of new features to be introduced during Season 1 are a new map, traditional game mode, and an assortment of new weapons. The launch of a specialized free-to-play component shows that the series is well poised to take advantage of the momentum already created by the flagship. Battlefield 6 has already made significant milestones, including recording the highest franchise sales during its debut period within the flagship title.
