The patch notes for the upcoming Battlefield 6 update, which will be released January 20, 2026, have been officially disclosed by Electronic Arts and Battlefield Studios. Such a mid-season intervention comes just when the developers also announced that the Season 2 originally scheduled to be released somewhere in January will now be postponed to February 17 to allow polish and refinement.
The January 20 update version, 1.1.3.5, according to the development team is a specially concentrated effort to tighten the gameplay mechanics that have felt inconsistent since the release of the game back in 2021. A complete overhaul of melee combat and jet handling is one of the most significant of the changes made. Knife and sledgehammer attack responsiveness will be significantly improved, including a fix for “Assault Ladder” physics that previously had soldiers flying through the air or not being able to mount properly.
To help ease the pain of a delay for Season 2, DICE has extended the current Season 1 Battle Pass and is launching a brand new “Frostfire Bonus Path” on January 27. This free path will offer weekly challenges, XP boosts, and weapon skins to keep activity rolling in the community while they wait an extra month. The company’s priority was stability over a rush to get content out the door after a “mixed” community response regarding map sizes and the performance of the game’s battle royale part, REDSEC.
The update will also bring in substantial quality-of-life improvements to the user interface-in making the armor bars a little more visible as well as customizable reticle colors for different scopes. This could be a great sign, meaning that Battlefield Studios would be putting in more effort to stabilize the core experience right before bigger content would come in February. Most importantly, this is also the new update cycle that brings former Ubisoft veteran Julian Gerighty into the DICE leadership team. This is an indication of a long-term commitment to the evolution of the franchise in 2026.
