After a huge launch, some of the wind was taken out of Battlefield 6's sails with the delay of Season 2. Originally meant to arrive in January, it was pushed back a full month, rolling out today, February 17, instead. In the face of competition from the likes of Arc Raiders and the imminent Marathon, a prominent dev says the hope is for Battlefield 6's rollout to be tighter going forward.
"We saw the content we had planned for Season 2 and we wanted just to give that a little bit more time in the oven to polish things and make sure we hit the expectations that players have," Phil Girette, producer at Battlefield 6 studio DICE, tells Gamereactor.
"Obviously, once you plan out seasons, there's a lot of things that come with that like the marketing work behind it, making sure the timings affect not only the game itself but many, many other things," he continues. "Absolutely, we need to make sure those hit as expected and we have taken quite a lot of different steps in different departments to make sure that the players get the seasons immediately once the season is planned to end."
In other words, measures have been taken to mitigate this happening again. Maintaining something the size of Battlefield 6 is an all-consuming prospect. You have to constantly monitor and balance how players are engaging with the existing modes and features, while putting together the additions that'll keep the FPS feeling fresh and exciting.
Two new maps and a pair of new modes is a lot of work across development and playtesting. Besides the internal quality control, you have the added pressure of whatever other games are competing for your community's attention. A tough reality the devs on Battlefield 6 have to be aware of is there are other shooters people can be playing instead, and once they leave, they might not come back, regardless of what you do.
At least Battlefield 6 Season 2 is providing plenty for the community to blast into. With any luck, the rest of the roadmap from EA and the Battlefield studios will hold steady.
