Here’s why Battlefield 6’s crossplay decision is a misstep

Creating a global, cross-platform multiplayer hit isn’t easy. For any developer and publisher aiming to do that, the inevitable question of crossplay will always arise. ‘Does X have crossplay?’ is a search query for many new releases, and the answer for Battlefield 6 is yes, it will. But that’s not the controversy here. 

It makes sense that BF6 would have crossplay to compete with the likes of Warzone and achieve EA’s 100 million player target. Yet, how BF6’s developers are going about communicating crossplay isn’t ideal. In fact, it feels as though it’s at odds with other community-positive considerations and feedback. 

Recent tweaks to the BF6 spotting mechanic, and ‘we hear you’ responses on spammy player movements, vehicle viability, and Assault class shotgun damage are a credit to the BF6 devs. But crossplay has been a burning question for months. Earlier this year, when Battlefield Comms announced a May playtest, it became clear PC and next-gen consoles were going to be included.

Up until that point, crossplay seemed likely, but it was only from the May test that we knew it actually existed and was on by default. Two months later, in July, a Reddit question about crossplay in the BF6 open beta was answered by a player from the May test, redditor WolfhoundCid: “I was in the May playtest and it was in [sic] by default, so I’d assume so.” 

Default crossplay would be in the BF6 beta, but there was still no obvious clarity about the system being used. That was until Dice producer Alexia Christofi spoke on those mechanics. Responding to an August 2 post on X suggesting BF6 would feature three modes: full, console-only, and platform-only crossplay options, Christofi’s reply explained: 

This fluid-seeming approach makes sense. After all, for the developers, what’s most important is finding a game, ideally to the player’s preferences. The idea of console-only, as stated by Christofi, was considered a win. A September 12 interview by IGN expanded this idea, with senior combat console designer Matthew Nickerson being more explicit:

Console-only crossplay happens if you turn it off. When you flip that switch, then you get, basically, console-only crossplay, and that is, we don’t fill with PC players.

When asked a further question of whether PlayStation players could play with Xbox players (and vice versa) with crossplay off, Nickerson replied, “Yeah.”

The inference above is that console-only lobbies are possible with crossplay on, and with it off, PS5 and Xbox players can play together, with only PC players excluded. Unfortunately, per a clarification by EA to Dexerto, this isn’t true. If a console BF6 player has crossplay on, lobbies can include PC players. Turning crossplay off limits console players to players from their own platform.

And for PC players? Reportedly, they cannot turn crossplay off at all. That suggests PC players will have to play with whoever they get, which again feels like a removal of power from the playerbase. Meanwhile, console players may have PC players unless they’re happy to play matches with a far smaller player base of only Xbox or only PS5 players.

What’s clear is that the most recent approach doesn’t resolve the concerns of PC or console BF6 fans. PC gamers largely prefer PC-only lobbies because playing against aim-assisted console gamers can feel mismatched. For console players, PC-based cheaters can quickly ruin things, but the balance can feel off anyway.

It is unclear if or how the console crossplay mechanic has changed since beta, but we must assume that with crossplay off, OwlsInMyBrain was only playing with other Xbox players. That’s fine for a well-populated and hyped beta, but the redditor spotted the speed bump: “However, we all know the crossplay off lobbies will be dead within 3 months of full release.”

To be fair to the Battlefield 6 devs, crossplay mechanics may be technically troublesome. However, the issue is a lack of clarity on the feature. As a PC player, I know it was marked as ‘on’ in the open beta. Now it would seem that control will be completely removed in the full release, which is the opposite of what many will want and a big potential issue. 

Neither a lack of clarity nor a shifting position on Battlefield 6’s crossplay is ideal before launch. Ultimately, it’s a real shame if PC players do not have a crossplay-off option, and if console players cannot choose to play without PC players, it feels like an opportunity missed. For such a highly anticipated title, it’s a shame, and it feels like it may put some off.

For balance, though, the counterpoint is the technical viability of BF6 players’ preferred crossplay options. That’s not something this writer is an authority on. What I will say is that, hopefully, any work done to balance console aim assist and to reduce any PC-based cheaters will help to balance things. I suppose it’s not long until we find out.