Battlefield 6 battle royale leak reveals huge map and two exciting features

After collectively putting millions of hours into the Battlefield 6 open beta, players are more excited than ever before to get back into EA's long-running series. The game is already being discussed as a return to form for the iconic FPS, after players became disenfranchized with its more recent live-service offerings. However, Battlefield 6 will include a battle royale mode, a considerable portion of which has just leaked online.

The leak, posted by someone by the name of 'Misako_Makoto' on Chinese social media site BiliBili, shows what looks like an early build of the battle royale map, but we can glean some important details from it ahead of the Battlefield 6 release date.

If Battlefield 6 wants to compete as one of the best battle royale games as well as in the FPS arena, it needs to nail the landing here. While Battlefield 2042 has seen a recent surge in players thanks to its exclusive battle pass rewards that can be used in the new entry when the time comes, it was much maligned on release.

Firstly, it's clear from the leak that this is a big map, even by Battlefield's standards. We watch the player drop into a sparse, arid landscape. There are a couple of areas of dense buildings, but the player instead opts to land at the docks. Thankfully, this leads to our first big reveal.

Immediately after landing, the leaker takes a dip to cool off from their not-so-hot drop, and even fires a couple of rounds from their pistol while in the water. You have been able to swim in previous Battlefield games, but it hasn't been confirmed for Battlefield 6 yet—mostly due to the fact that none of the beta maps had any water. The leak shows us not only that you can swim, but that you can dive underwater again. The feature was missing from 2042, and players missed the ability to sneakily reposition with a submerged flanking attack. The ability to fire your sidearm while treading water could also prove vitally useful.

After that, they get involved in some classic Battlefield destruction, launching their sledgehammer into concrete walls to destroy a whole outhouse. It feels quite Fortnite, in a way. A more realistic and less IP-obsessed way.

A second drop takes the leaker to a luxury golf course. It's unclear whether you have the option to drive the golf buggy (I don't read Chinese so the UI is meaningless to me), but you can definitely shoot it until it explodes, which is arguably more important.

For their final drop, the leaker heads to an army base. They have a look at a helicopter before using a ladder gadget to escape from a crevasse. However, there's another interesting tidbit here, as the player ascends up an elevator shaft (standard), but descends via a zipwire crossing the entire base. This looks to be an Apex Legends-esque way to maneuver around the map in certain areas.

Battlefield 6 enjoyers will take a lot from this nine-minute look at the game's battle royale map—you can watch the whole thing here, but remember that this appears to still be an early build. While swimming mechanics and ziplines will be the headlines, there's a lot to unpack. The real test, of course, will be when the game releases and players jump in for themselves.

Make sure to check out our Battlefield 6 preview for our thoughts on the game so far. It's also worth checking that your PC meets the Battlefield 6 system requirements ahead of its launch, as you don't want to be left stranded.

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