EA’s DICE studio has blown the lid off the multiplayer for its upcoming military shooter Battlefield 6, and players will soon get to join the fray themselves. A Battlefield 6 public beta is coming on two consecutive weekends starting Aug. 9 — and if you’re lucky enough to get in Early Access, to play starting Aug. 7 — and here’s how to join.
The Battlefield 6 open betas will be the first chances for players to get to experience the game’s multiplayer before its full release Oct. 10. The first open beta weekend will start at 1 a.m. PT Aug. 9 through Aug. 10 and the second will kick off at 1 a.m. PT Aug. 14 and run through Aug. 16. Fans can visit Battlefield’s website to get info for the open beta, which just requires linking your EA account to your platform account.
Note that publisher EA hasn’t provided a specific sign-up for the beta just yet but it will be open to all players. We’ll update this post if or when EA provides specific instructions for signing up but we do know the open beta can be pre-downloaded on respective platforms starting Aug. 4.
The beta will be playable on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Twitch’s drops campaign list includes various campaigns that reward players for watching streams participating in the campaign — like this one granting early access to Battlefield 6’s public beta.
Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET
How to get Battlefield 6 open beta early access
There is one way to secure your spot in the open beta a couple days early on Aug. 7: Watch your favorite streamer playing Battlefield 6 today (July 31), as explained in an official post on X. You can watch on the official Battlefield Twitch or on a participating creator’s channel but you’ll have to do it fast as the event ends at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Here are the steps:
Sign into your Twitch account.Make sure you have drops enabled and the Battlefield 6 Early Access Beta Key Drops selected from among the drops campaigns list.Watch a single streamer participating in the Battlefield 6 Early Access Beta Key Drops for 60 minutes — if you’re having trouble finding one, search for “Battlefield 6” and look for streams that include “Beta Key Drops” or often just “Drops” in their titles.Once earned, find your beta key access in your Drops Inventory.
Players who have participated in Battlefield Labs, studio DICE’s pre-release feedback program for the game, will be granted early access to play the beta starting Aug. 7.
Studio DICE didn’t detail which modes, weapons and other options will be playable in the open beta but it did confirm that “Closed Weapons” modes that restrict certain guns to certain classes will be available to try out. If the preview is anything to go by, players will be able to load up a handful of multiplayer modes, like Conquest, Squad Deathmatch and Breakthrough, on maps like Siege of Cairo, Empire State and Liberation Peak.
Battlefield 6 open beta dates
August 7-8: Early access, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 7August 9-10: First open beta weekend available to all, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 9 and closing Aug. 11 at 1 a.m. PT.August 14-16: Second open beta weekend available to all, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 14 and closing Aug. 17 at 1 a.m. PT.
PC specific notice for Battlefield 6 beta
A special note if you haven’t played a Battlefield game on PC recently: Studio DICE and EA recently started requiring players to set their computers to Secure Boot when playing Battlefield games to combat cheaters, and Battlefield 6 is no different. To even play the open beta, you’ll need to delve into your BIOS and switch your PC to Secure Boot — check EA’s guide for help.
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