All vikisBattlefield Studios
Battlefield 6 was made by Battlefield Studios, Electronic Arts' group of four teams: DICE in Stockholm, Ripple Effect in Los Angeles, Motive in Montreal and Criterion in Guildford. Vince Zampella, who led Battlefield from 2021, died in a car crash on Dec 21, 2025, and EA, now privately owned, cut Battlefield staff in Mar 2026.
Battlefield 6 was made by Battlefield Studios, Electronic Arts' name for the four teams that built it together: DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive and Criterion. The same group has carried the game through five seasons since. The year after launch was hard on it: Vince Zampella, who ran Battlefield, died on Dec 21, 2025, EA laid off staff in all four studios on Mar 9, 2026, and EA itself became a private company on Aug 4, 2026.
Quick facts
| Developer | Battlefield Studios (DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive, Criterion) |
| Publisher | Electronic Arts |
| Head of Battlefield (2021 to 2025) | Vince Zampella, died Dec 21, 2025 |
| General manager of Battlefield | Byron Beede |
| Battlefield Studios Europe | Rebecka Coutaz, VP and GM |
| Layoffs | Mar 9, 2026, in all four studios (number not given) |
| EA's owners since Aug 4, 2026 | PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners |
The four studios
EA described the split on launch day, Oct 10, 2025. Each studio led one part of the game; their home cities are the ones each studio is known for.
| Studio | Home | Its part of Battlefield 6 |
|---|---|---|
| DICE | Stockholm, Sweden | Core multiplayer; the studio that made every main Battlefield since 1942 |
| Ripple Effect | Los Angeles, US | Multiplayer and the live service, including Portal (Portal and Server Browser) |
| Motive | Montreal, Canada | The single-player campaign and its story (Campaign) |
| Criterion | Guildford, UK | Gameplay systems |
The campaign is the part critics liked least, and Motive is the studio behind it (Reception and Reviews); IGN's campaign review regretted how few creative risks it took with so large a budget.
REDSEC, the free battle royale, launched under the same group with Season 1, a surprise release by EA and Battlefield Studios on Oct 28, 2025, free whether or not you own Battlefield 6. Since Aug 2026 Criterion has worked only on Battlefield; Kotaku quoted Rebecka Coutaz: "We are solely focused on Battlefield."
The people
At launch, EA named three leaders: Vince Zampella, group general manager of EA Entertainment, over all of Battlefield; Byron Beede, senior vice president and general manager of Battlefield; and Rebecka Coutaz, vice president and general manager of DICE and Criterion.
- Vince Zampella co-founded Infinity Ward, where he co-created Call of Duty, and then Respawn Entertainment; he took charge of Battlefield in 2021.
- Byron Beede, another Call of Duty veteran from Activision, was hired as Battlefield's general manager in 2021, reporting to Zampella.
- Rebecka Coutaz came to DICE from Ubisoft Annecy as general manager in Nov 2021; by Aug 2026 she was titled vice president and general manager of Battlefield Studios Europe.
The studios were unusually visible at launch. Enders, a daily Battlefield streamer, recalled in his Oct 10, 2026 one-year review that DICE developers were talking to players on social media and even in Twitch chats, which he called abnormal for the studio; by the end of the first year, he said, those figureheads had gone quiet for months at a time.
The leaders of 2042 had moved on by then: Fawzi Mesmar, DICE's head of design, left after 2042's release in Nov 2021.
Vince Zampella's death
Zampella died aged 55 on Dec 21, 2025, when his car left a highway through the mountains north of Los Angeles, GameSpot and PC Gamer reported the next day. EA called it "an unimaginable loss", and Respawn called him "a titan and legend of this industry". The developers said they would honor him through the game's updates, starting with Season 2, and the D.I.C.E. Summit in Feb 2026 held a tribute to him. In a GameSpot interview a Battlefield producer said "People above my pay grade are still trying to figure out what happens moving forward". EA has named no successor as head of Battlefield as of Nov 8, 2026. Looking back on the year in Oct 2026, Enders set Zampella's death beside the layoffs and what he saw as the team moving on to its next project.
The March 2026 layoffs
On Mar 9, 2026, five months after what EA called the biggest launch in the series' history (Sales), EA laid off an undisclosed number of people across DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect and Motive, as IGN first reported and Kotaku and Dexerto followed. EA called it a realignment: "select changes" to fit its teams to the community's priorities. It said Battlefield remained "one of our biggest priorities", that all four studios stayed open, and that the cuts had nothing to do with the pending sale of the company. PC Gamer's headline put the contrast plainly: "6 months later, EA is laying off people who made it". At the time, Steam's daily peaks had fallen from the launch's 747,440 to around 55,000 (Steam Player Count).
EA goes private
EA agreed on Sep 29, 2025, eleven days before Battlefield 6 launched, to be bought by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners at $210 a share, about $55 billion including debt. The deal closed on Aug 4, 2026; Andrew Wilson stayed chairman and chief executive, and GamesRadar+ reported it as the largest leveraged buyout in history. A day later Kotaku, citing Bloomberg, reported that EA had told lenders it would cut $700 million a year in costs.
On Oct 21, 2026 EA said it would close BioWare and cut about 400 jobs, while promising to keep investing in EA Sports, Apex Legends and Battlefield, Dexerto reported. The same letter said DICE and Respawn would work together on a new project, which Bloomberg reported is likely a new Star Wars Battlefront; EA has not confirmed what it is. Kotaku reported that Battlefield 6 then pulled a planned Mass Effect collaboration from its store for Battlefield 6. The only crossover so far is Dead Space, in Season 5.
What we think
We think the four-studio model worked for the launch and is now under strain. It delivered the series' best-selling game, but Roadmap and Season 6 shows the cost: Platoons and the B-81 Cavalry, due on Dec 8, 2026 by the Season 5 roadmap, slipped to 2027 on Nov 6, 2026, and Season 2 was delayed a month in Jan 2026. We think DICE sharing its people with a Respawn project will slow Battlefield 6's seasons in 2027 rather than end them, and that Criterion's full move to Battlefield is EA's way of filling the gap. We also expect EA to name a new head of Battlefield, or to say plainly that Byron Beede holds the role, before the 2027 roadmap. Our dated calls are on Predictions.
Frequently asked questions
Who made Battlefield 6?
Battlefield Studios: DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive and Criterion, under Electronic Arts. DICE led the core multiplayer and Motive the campaign.
Who made the Battlefield 6 campaign?
Motive, the EA studio in Montreal, led the single-player campaign.
Who is the head of Battlefield?
Vince Zampella led Battlefield from 2021 until his death on Dec 21, 2025. EA has not named a successor as of Nov 8, 2026; Byron Beede is Battlefield's general manager.
Did EA lay off Battlefield 6 developers?
Yes. On Mar 9, 2026 EA laid off an undisclosed number of people across all four Battlefield studios, calling it a realignment. All four studios stayed open.
Who owns EA now?
Since Aug 4, 2026, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, who bought EA for about $55 billion.
Sources
- Battlefield Studios: all in, Electronic Arts, Oct 10, 2025
- Meet Rebecka Coutaz, general manager at DICE, Electronic Arts
- EA hires former Call of Duty veteran as its new Battlefield GM, GameSpot, 2021
- Battlefield's head of design is leaving DICE following 2042's release, VGC, Nov 2021
- CoD and Battlefield boss Vince Zampella dies in car crash, GameSpot, Dec 22, 2025
- Vince Zampella, the co-founder of Infinity Ward and head of Battlefield, dies in car crash, PC Gamer, Dec 22, 2025
- Industry leaders pay tribute to Vince Zampella, GamesRadar+, Dec 2025
- The late Vince Zampella to be honored at upcoming industry event, GameSpot, early 2026
- Battlefield 6 producer on honoring Vince Zampella and the future of the game, GameSpot, 2026
- How Battlefield 6 devs are aiming to honor Vince Zampella's legacy, Dexerto, Feb 16, 2026
- Battlefield 6 reportedly hit with layoffs, Kotaku, Mar 9, 2026
- EA lays off Battlefield 6 studio staff, Dexerto, Mar 9, 2026
- Battlefield 6 was the biggest launch in franchise history. 6 months later, EA is laying off people who made it, PC Gamer, Mar 9, 2026
- EA announces agreement to be acquired by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, PIF, Sep 29, 2025
- EA announces completion of acquisition, Electronic Arts, Aug 4, 2026
- EA is now officially owned by Saudi Arabia and private equity, GamesRadar+, Aug 4, 2026
- EA looks to cut $700 million in annual costs, Kotaku, Aug 5, 2026
- EA shuts down BioWare and cancels next Mass Effect game amid 400 layoffs, Dexerto, Oct 21, 2026
- Battlefield 6 Quietly Yanks Planned Mass Effect Collab From Its Store After BioWare Closure, Kotaku, Oct 2026
- Battlefield 6 Campaign Review, IGN, Oct 9, 2025 (video)
- Battlefield REDSEC: All Modes Explained - IGN Daily Fix, IGN, Oct 28, 2025 (video)
- One Year Later - Battlefield 6 Review From Daily Player, Enders, Oct 10, 2026 (video)
- Battlefield 6 Season 5 Is PACKED! Server Browser, 3 New Maps, & More!, Enders, Oct 11, 2026 (video)
Moments
Battlefield 6 Campaign Review
IGN
Battlefield REDSEC: All Modes Explained - IGN Daily Fix
IGN
One Year Later - Battlefield 6 Review From Daily Player
Enders
Battlefield 6 Season 5 Is PACKED! Server Browser, 3 New Maps, & More!
Enders
Related
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Battlefield SeriesBattlefield 6 is the latest of the Battlefield games that began with Battlefield 1942 in 2002, and the first main entry since Battlefield 2042 in 2021. It returns to the four classes and a story campaign after 2042 replaced classes with Specialists and had no campaign.
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Campaign MissionsBattlefield 6's campaign has nine missions, from Always Faithful in Georgia to Always Forward in Tajikistan. This page lists each one in order with its place, date, objectives, trophies and rewards, and tips for each.
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Campaign Story and EndingBattlefield 6's story follows Dagger 13 from Pax Armata's attack in Georgia in 2027 to the war's end in Tajikistan in 2028, and ends with the reveal that CIA handler Melissa Mills helped create Pax to give NATO a common enemy. This page explains the plot and the ending, with spoilers.
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Dagger 13 and CharactersDagger 13 is the US Marine Raider squad of Battlefield 6's campaign: Haz Carter (Assault), Dylan Murphy (Engineer), Simone "Gecko" Espina (Recon) and Cliff Lopez (Support), with CIA operator Lucas Hemlock. This page covers them and the other characters, Mills, Kincaid, Al-Khatib and President Fernandez.
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AssaultAssault is Battlefield 6's objective class. It carries the Adrenaline Injector, captures and arms objectives faster, uses assault rifles best, and brings ladders, grenade launchers, a Deploy Beacon or a second primary weapon; its training paths are Frontliner and Breacher.
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ClassesBattlefield 6 has four classes, Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon, each with a fixed signature gadget, trait and weapon bonus, two training paths and an active ability. In most modes any class can carry any gun; Closed Weapon playlists keep each class to its signature weapon plus carbines, DMRs and shotguns.
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EngineerEngineer is Battlefield 6's vehicle class. It carries the Repair Tool, takes less explosive damage near friendly vehicles, handles SMGs best, and brings launchers, anti-vehicle mines, the EOD Bot and the Vehicle Supply Crate; its training paths are Anti-Armor and Combat Engineer.
See also
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Portal and Server BrowserBattlefield Portal is Battlefield 6's built-in sandbox for player-made modes, and from Season 5 Phase 2 (staged rollout after Nov 10, 2026) it sits behind a real server browser with Official, Player-Hosted, Verified and Custom servers. Verified servers give full XP; Custom ones give reduced XP.
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CampaignBattlefield 6's campaign is a nine-mission single-player story that follows Dagger 13, a US Marine Raider squad, against the private army Pax Armata. It takes about four to six hours, has four difficulties and 30 dog tags, and its rewards carry into multiplayer.
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Reception and ReviewsCritics rated Battlefield 6 well: 83 on OpenCritic with 89% recommending it, and 83 on Metacritic for PS5 (84 on Xbox Series X, 82 on PC), as of Nov 8, 2026. Reviewers praised the multiplayer and called the campaign its weakest part, while Steam players turned to "Mixed" over Season 1's maps and monetization.
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REDSECBattlefield REDSEC is Battlefield 6's free-to-play battle royale, out since Oct 28, 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. As of Season 5 (Nov 8, 2026) it offers Battle Royale on Fort Lyndon, Ranked, Casual and Rapid Royale, and shares its progression and battle pass with Battlefield 6.
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SalesElectronic Arts' only unit figure for Battlefield 6 is over 7 million copies sold in its first three days, announced on Oct 16, 2025. EA later called it the best-selling shooter of 2025, and Circana ranked it the best-selling game of 2025 in the US, the first year a Battlefield outsold Call of Duty there.
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Steam Player CountBattlefield 6 had 43,714 people playing on Steam at 20:00 UTC on Nov 7, 2026, per SteamDB, against an all-time Steam peak of 747,440 on its launch day, Oct 10, 2025. Since Season 2 its daily peaks have averaged about 51,000 to 54,000 a season, and every new season lifts them for about two weeks.