Battlefield Series

2:17 Battlefield 6 is the latest of the Battlefield games that began with Battlefield 1942 in 2002, and the first main entry since Battlefield 2042 in Nov 2021. It is a deliberate step back to the series' classic shape: GamesBeat called its reveal a return to a more classic formula compared to 2042, with the four classes instead of named Specialists and a single-player campaign, which 2042 had dropped. Enders, a daily Battlefield streamer, recalled in his Oct 10, 2026 one-year review how the marketing leaned on the setting, the music and "going back to their roots" after four years of 2042. EA counts over 100 million players and 5 billion hours played across the series' two decades.

Quick facts

Every Battlefield game in order

Dates as mp1st's series history and Insider Gaming give them; where only a year is shown, the exact day was not checked for this page.

EA's own Battlefield page, read on Nov 8, 2026, lists eight games as its current catalog: Battlefield 6, REDSEC, 2042, V, 1, Hardline, 4 and 3.

Battlefield 6 against Battlefield 2042

1:07 2042 is the game Battlefield 6 answers. It launched in Nov 2021 without a campaign and with ten named Specialists in place of classes, and its later updates reorganized them. Battlefield 6 reverses both decisions and moves the setting back to the present. One part of the old design did not come back whole: as GameSpot's class guide explains, any class may carry any weapon type in the standard playlists, with only a bonus for the class's own weapon, while older games locked weapons to classes.

1:32 We think the return to classes was the single change that won back Battlefield's players. Reviewers named it among the first things they liked, IGN's multiplayer review calling the four classes well balanced with very distinct identities (Reception and Reviews), and Battlefield 6's first three days outsold anything the series had done (Sales). We also think the campaign's return mattered less than EA hoped: it was the part reviewers liked least, and Steam shows only 9.5% of players finishing it (Achievements and Trophies).

Old maps in Battlefield 6

6:32 Battlefield 6 has brought back three maps from earlier games so far, each rebuilt rather than copied; gameranx's Before You Buy singled out Operation Firestorm's return as the launch's throwback:

• Operation Firestorm, from Battlefield 3, at launch (Operation Firestorm).
• Railway to Golmud, Battlefield 4's Golmud Railway, in Season 3 on May 12, 2026 (Railway to Golmud), per EA's Season 3 roadmap.
• Wake Island, a series map since Battlefield 1942, in Season 4 (Wake Island).

EA's year-one look back counts Golmud, Wake Island and Naval Warfare among the highlights of the first year. Its Battlefield Labs posts also measure new maps against old ones: Contaminated was described as comparable to St. Quentin Scar in Battlefield 1 or Arras in Battlefield V (Contaminated). Which old map comes next is our first prediction on Predictions.

What came before the reveal

13:44 The expectations it carried were the series' own. IGN's multiplayer reviewer, asked for his favorite, named Battlefield 1942, where it started, and Battlefield 4, the one he played most, and said he did not like 2042 much. EA revealed Battlefield 6 on Jul 24, 2025 and its multiplayer on Jul 31, 2025, both after a long run of Battlefield Labs playtests, and set the launch for Oct 10, 2025 (Release Date and Launch). The open beta in Aug 2025 then set the series' Steam record, which launch day broke again at 747,440 players (Steam Player Count).

2:56 At launch the verdict was that the classic shape had come back. Jake Baldino of gameranx, in his Oct 10, 2025 Before You Buy, called the multiplayer a return to the glory days of Battlefield 3 and 4, with better technology behind it, and said "the biggest thing" was the return of classes.

Where the series goes next

EA has announced no new Battlefield game as of Nov 8, 2026. Battlefield 6 is planned to keep going into 2027 with Season 6 and a year-two roadmap (Roadmap and Season 6). Separately, EA said on Oct 21, 2026 that DICE and Respawn will collaborate on a new project, which Bloomberg reported is likely a new Star Wars Battlefront; EA has not said. In our view Battlefield 6 is built to last as a platform, as Call of Duty's Warzone is, and we think the next numbered Battlefield is further away than the usual three or four years between entries.

Frequently asked questions

What was the first Battlefield game?

Battlefield 1942, released on PC in 2002 by DICE.

How many Battlefield games are there?

Nineteen releases from 1942 to REDSEC, counting the free-to-play and download-only spin-offs. The main numbered or named entries before 6 are 1942, 2, 2142, Bad Company 2, 3, 4, Hardline, 1, V and 2042.

Is Battlefield 6 a sequel to Battlefield 2042?

Not in story. It is set in 2027, before 2042's date, with a new conflict against Pax Armata, and it brings back the classes 2042 replaced.

Does Battlefield 6 have specialists?

No. Battlefield 6 has the four classes, Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon, in place of 2042's Specialists.

Sources

• Battlefield series history, MP1st, Sep 11, 2022
• All Battlefield games in order of release, Insider Gaming, Sep 29, 2026
• Battlefield, Electronic Arts, read Nov 8, 2026
• EA finally shows off Battlefield 6 multiplayer, confirms October 10 launch, GamesBeat, Jul 31, 2025
• Battlefield 6 shatters records, Electronic Arts (Business Wire release), Oct 16, 2025
• Season 3 roadmap: everything you need to know, Electronic Arts, May 8, 2026
• Battlefield Season 5 and beyond, Electronic Arts, Oct 1, 2026
• EA shuts down BioWare and cancels next Mass Effect game, Dexerto, Oct 21, 2026
• Which Battlefield 6 Class is Right For You, GameSpot, Oct 9, 2025 (video)
• Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Review, IGN, Oct 16, 2025 (video)
• One Year Later - Battlefield 6 Review From Daily Player, Enders, Oct 10, 2026 (video)
• Battlefield 6 - Before You Buy, gameranx, Oct 10, 2025 (video)