Battlefield 6 may be next-gen exclusive on PlayStation 5, Xbox SX

Battlefield 6 is on the way in 2021, and it could be exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X and push next-gen consoles the same way Battlefield 4 did in 2013.

2

EA and DICE are planning something big with Battlefield 6. The devs are retiring both Battlefield V and Battlefront II to free up teams for the next-gen Battlefield game, and we should expect DICE to push PS5 and Xbox Series X to their limits with a newly enhanced Frostbite engine. Thanks to this focus on high-level optimization, DICE might actually skip current-gen systems altogether. The underpowered Jaguar SoCs and mechanical HDDs will significantly hinder the explosive next-gen craziness that's made possible by the new Navi GPU and Zen 2 CPU-powered systems.

After the recent BFV and BFII announcements, we dug up some older comments that made us curious whether or not Battlefield 6 is coming to today's consoles. In an October earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said DICE is "targeting new innovation that will be enabled by next-gen platforms and a growing install base on the new consoles."

EA execs have teased rather crazy things for the next Battlefield; EA CFO Mike Jorgensen even said the game would blow people's minds.

"You should assume the power of those consoles is much more than existing consoles. We can do a lot more. You will start to see things over the next couple of years that will blow people's minds," Jorgensen said in January.

"The power will be substantially greater than existing consoles, and it'll be exciting to see how new games will evolve using that power. The team at DICE will do some really amazing things."

2

Jorgensen also underlined EA's FY22 earnings should spike thanks to Battlefield 6's release. Live services in particular are expected to rise, so expect monetization (but that's not a surprise).

"New consoles are coming and we'll be ready to lead with some of our top titles," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in the Q3'20 earnings call. "We have really strong traction on the next Battlefield game and I'm really excited about it."

As for a release date, the game will be part of EA's Fiscal Year 2022 slate, which stretches from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.

EA chose to launch it a year after next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X console launches to ensure a more mature install base. The move to 2021 will allow EA to "really take advantage of a large install base of new consoles," the company said.

This further reinforces our thoughts about next-gen exclusivity. If EA wanted to maximize sales, they'd aim for a cross-gen release as soon as possible. It looks like they're given DICE enough time to craft a real next-gen experience.

"Battlefield is known for being the cutting edge, bleeding edge in digital fidelity and gameplay and multiplayer, and launching into next-gen platforms was going to offer tremendous possibilities of innovation. Launching battlefield in FY2022 is a strong move for us, it offers us stronger room for growth," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in October 2019.

EA could reveal more details during its Q4 earnings call on May 5.