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The Battlefield 6 Beta Hasn't Returned, but Battlefield Labs Is Back

If you've signed up for Battlefield Labs, you can play Battlefield 6 if you get invited to tests.

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Headshot of David Lumb
David Lumb Senior Reporter
David Lumb is a senior reporter covering mobile and gaming spaces. Over the last decade, he's reviewed phones for TechRadar as well as covered tech, gaming, and culture for Engadget, Popular Mechanics, NBC Asian America, Increment, Fast Company and others. As a true Californian, he lives for coffee, beaches and burritos.
Expertise Smartphones | Gaming | Telecom industry | Mobile semiconductors | Mobile gaming
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Oscar Gonzalez Contributing writer
Oscar Gonzalez is a Texas native who covered video games, conspiracy theories, misinformation and cryptocurrency.
Expertise Video Games | Misinformation | Conspiracy Theories | Cryptocurrency | NFTs | Movies | TV | Economy | Stocks
David Lumb
Oscar Gonzalez
4 min read
Game art showing a group of soldiers standing in front of a battlefield with planes and explosions with the Battlefield 6 logo.
EA DICE

EA's DICE studio is getting ready to launch its upcoming military shooter Battlefield 6 and held a beta to give players a taste of the game. While that isn't returning (yet), the early playtest program Battlefield Labs is back. If you get invited in, you get to play.

Players accepted in Battlefield Labs were been able to try out Battlefield 6 earlier this year, and it paused during the open beta but has now resumed, EA announced in an official post. This round of playtests will open the game up to some settings dearly missed in the beta, like a server browser and the Portal functionality to search for specific maps and game modes. 

The catch is that Battlefield Labs is selective, and even if you get into the program, you may not be chosen for every test period, but players who want every chance to play Battlefield 6 before launch can sign up here. The program runs at irregular times to get feedback. Fans posted alleged times for the next playtest, claiming it'll run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT on Friday, Aug. 29 for North American players, so make sure you're signed up for Battlefield Labs for the best chance to get in.

The Battlefield 6 open beta was the first chance for all players to experience the game's multiplayer before its full release on Oct. 10. Those with early access got a couple extra days to play and both of the open beta weekends were a rousing success, finally ending in the early hours of Monday, Aug. 18 (1 a.m. PT, to be precise).

Fans could visit Battlefield's website to get info about the open beta, which required linking your EA account to your platform account. PC players also had to configure their system to Secure Boot as well (see below). 

The beta was playable on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S.

How to sign up for Battlefield Labs

Signing up for Battlefield Labs requires an application process -- first, head to EA DICE's dedicated site for the program and click on the "Sign Up Now" button at the top, which will redirect you to sign in to your EA account where you can apply for the program. You'll have to wait to see if you're accepted, though you can join the public Battlefield Labs Discord to wait for news and chat with other players eager to try out Battlefield 6.

Note that, even if you are accepted into the Battlefield Labs program, you may not be chosen for every playtest. Players in the public Discord note that they can wait months to get into a test, and may not get into every one from then on. The good news is that EA DICE announced that they are accepting more players into the program now that the open beta has ended, so your chances of getting in have improved.

When did the Battlefield 6 beta end? What were the dates and times?

The Battlefield 6 open beta ran through August 18 at 1am PT.

  • Aug. 7-8: Early access.
  • Aug. 9-10: First open beta weekend available to all.
  • Aug. 14-17: Second open beta weekend available to all, starting at 1 a.m. PT on Aug. 14 and closing Aug. 18 at 1 a.m. PT.

How to access the Battlefield 6 open beta

As this was an open beta, getting access was pretty easy. Players could simply download the Battlefield 6 beta client from their preferred platform, including the PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Steam, Epic Games Store or the EA app. 

Preloading the Battlefield 6 beta started on Aug. 4. Doing a preload meant you'd be able to jump on the beta as soon as it was available instead of waiting for it to download on the day of access. 

Battlefield 6 open beta download links

Here are the BF6 Beta download links for each platform: 

Battlefield 6 beta maps

EA revealed the rotation of maps for the Battlefield 6 open beta weekends. 

battlefield 6 maps

The maps for the upcoming Battlefield 6 open beta.

 EA

For the first weekend of Aug. 9-10, the maps were: 

  • Liberation Peak: A large, mountainous desert with broad slopes and military forts, as well as ground and aerial vehicles.
  • Siege of Cairo: An urban battlefield in the heart of Egypt with tight buildings, wide boulevards and ground vehicles.
  • Iberian Offensive: A cluster of village buildings for tight squad combat while holding street squares for objectives.

The second weekend of Aug. 14-17 included the first weekend maps, plus:

  • Empire State: A close-quarters NYC map with fierce fighting in alleyways and room-to-room firefights in buildings under construction.

Battlefield 6 beta game modes

Just like with the maps, each weekend also featured certain game modes. 

The modes for the first weekend were: 

  • Conquest 
  • Closed Weapons Conquest 
  • Domination
  • King of the Hill
  • Breakthrough

Then on the second weekend of the beta, the previous modes were included along with:

  • Rush
  • Squad Deathmatch
  • Attack & Defend playlist (Breakthrough, Rush)
  • Close Quarters playlist (Domination, King of the Hill, Squad Deathmatch)
  • All-Out Warfare playlist (Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush)
  • Closed Weapons All-Out Warfare playlist (Conquest, Breakthrough)

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 needed to delve into your BIOS and switch your PC to Secure Boot. Check EA's guide for help. 

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