Battlefield REDSEC Interview: The Origins and Future of Battlefield’s Battle Royale

by

Fans were surprised in late October to learn that, alongside a battle royale mode, the next Battlefield game offers a completely free-to-play experience that goes beyond the usual battle royale format. This new experience, called Battlefield REDSEC, isn’t just a battle royale; it’s also a platform for players to create their own content and features a separate player-versus-player mode called Gauntlet. It’s a bold and expansive offering designed to appeal to a wide range of players and provide plenty of content. Interestingly, the mode launched unexpectedly, with no prior announcement or marketing.

I recently had the chance to speak with Thomas Andersson and Justin Wiebe from Battlefield Studios to discuss the origins of Battlefield REDSEC and what’s planned for its future.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Immediately following the release of Battlefield 2042, EA mentioned that Ripple Effect was developing a new Battlefield project, but details were scarce. Many people speculated it might be a battle royale game. Was this the beginning of the REDSEC project, potentially as early as 2021?

I recall meetings with Thomas shortly after 2042, and we learned a lot. These discussions really helped us define our vision for the Battlefield franchise and understand its potential. We had some tough conversations at the time to establish what we wanted Battlefield to become and the kind of experience we wanted to build for our players.

What really stood out to me is that we need to attract many more players and fully introduce them to the world of Battlefield. To achieve this, we should make the game free-to-play, but first, we need to rebuild player trust and excitement before launching that free version.

The main goal for Battlefield 6 is to give players exactly what they expect from a Battlefield game. Once we achieve that, we can explore making it free-to-play. We don’t want a limited, ‘gated’ free version; instead, we aim to offer something different and innovative, while still satisfying long-time Battlefield fans.

Achieving this meant undertaking the biggest challenge of my career: bringing together all of EA’s studios – not just a few – to form Battlefield Studios. This allowed all our teams to collaborate on Battlefield, each contributing their unique expertise from the various games they’d previously developed, ultimately shaping the experience you’re now enjoying.

Thomas Andersson explained that while they didn’t begin by focusing on a battle royale mode, they quickly decided they wanted a free way for people to experience Battlefield. Their goal was to make the game accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they wanted to pay for it, and to remove any obstacles that might prevent people from enjoying the game.

We eventually started discussing the battle royale genre. Everyone agreed it was a really exciting space, and while it had been around for a while, it felt like a natural fit for Battlefield. The idea of bringing Battlefield’s signature large-scale environments and destructible elements, along with the vehicles and squad-based gameplay players love, to a battle royale format felt like a perfect combination. It would truly capture the essence of Battlefield in a new way, and we quickly realized we had to pursue it – the potential was incredible.

We designed REDSEC as a separate experience, but with connections to Battlefield 6, particularly in terms of challenges and how players progress. We’re aiming for a shared experience overall. Could you explain how you determined the level of connection between the two?

From the start, we focused on leveraging what makes Battlefield great and offering it as a free experience. We then built rules and features around that core gameplay to ensure players have fun in all modes – Battle Royale, Gauntlet, Portal, and anything else we create. We began by perfecting the core multiplayer experience and integrating as much of that quality into the free-to-play options. This same principle applies to player progression; we wanted a single, unified system where time spent in any mode is rewarded, ensuring everything players do feels valuable.

What did you want to bring to the battle royale genre to make REDSEC stand out?

One of the key elements we focused on was destruction, but not just for visual effect. We didn’t want players simply watching things fall and then immediately returning to combat. We quickly realized we needed what we called ‘tactical destruction’ – destruction that players could actively use to gain an advantage. For example, if an enemy squad enters a building, players should have multiple options: use an RPG to breach it, provide supporting fire as teammates move in, or use smoke grenades for cover and coordinated team tactics.

We’re planning a major attack – essentially, collapsing the building on our opponents to drive them out. From the start, we wanted destruction to be a core element of the experience. Another key feature is the inclusion of powerful combat vehicles. We’re introducing these gradually, so while they might seem overwhelming at first, players will quickly learn how to defeat them, creating a balanced and fair challenge.

Recently, I’ve been focused on making sure our team’s gadgets and special abilities are effective in combat. Before a fight, we quickly assess what we can do – like deploying a TUGS device or using smoke grenades – and then coordinate a strong attack.

People have pointed out similarities to Warzone, likely because both games are realistic military shooters and share a similar look and feel. Was Warzone an influence on your game’s development, or did you intentionally avoid drawing inspiration from it?

Everyone involved in the creative process brings something special to the table. With all the different teams at Battlefield Studios contributing, we had a wealth of inspiration to draw from. Some team members had experience with the classic battle royale mode in Battlefield V, while others were just passionate players of the genre. Personally, I’ve been following and playing battle royale games since the very beginning.

I’ve tried out a lot of battle royale games, and I’ve been thinking about what makes them fun. I especially enjoy when the game encourages teamwork right from the start, instead of everyone immediately going off on their own. I also like features that create opportunities for players to do something other than just looting when there aren’t any enemies nearby – something to keep the action going.

We’re focusing on how players can use missions strategically. Instead of just endlessly searching for conflict, they can take on missions when they have downtime to improve their character, gain better equipment, or acquire new vehicles. This isn’t about one specific game; it’s about identifying successful elements from various game genres and combining them with what our team wants to achieve.

People have certain expectations, especially as we get closer to finishing this project. We shouldn’t ignore those. We’re even exploring alternatives during the initial planning stages – like finding ways to handle quick changes if needed. However, some core elements are just essential and can’t be changed.

Other battle royale games also have shrinking play areas, but ours is particularly dangerous. Players used to constantly pushing the boundaries in other games might need to adjust their strategy here. Simply trying to stay just ahead of the shrinking zone might not work, and you’ll likely need to rethink how you approach it.

Was REDSEC designed to last for the long term? If a new Battlefield game comes out, will REDSEC still be supported and available, or is its future uncertain?

I’m not going to directly address that question, but I can say that we definitely built this game to last. We’re planning to continuously update it with new content and changes every season. We’re thinking about how to evolve not just the gameplay features, but the game world itself, and everything we add to it. We want this to be a constantly expanding and evolving universe.

This marks the start of an exciting new phase. We’ve spent years developing this, and now that it’s released, it’s crucial to listen to player feedback. It’s no longer just about our vision; it’s about building a game with the community. We have a direction in mind, but what players are telling us is equally important, and we’ll use their insights to shape the game’s future as we continue to develop it.

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/new-battlefield-6-update-removes-fan-favorite-glitch-full-patch-notes-revealed/embed/#

Read More

2025-11-13 03:45