The next Battlefield game doesn’t even have an official name yet, but fans are already hands-on with an early build thanks to the new Battlefield Labs playtest program. That program has proved a headache for devs, with participants leaking footage in spite of NDAs, and starting rumors about the use of skill-based matchmaking (SBMM).
A rumor that Battlefield 6 would use SBMM, which likely originated from the playtest, has spread through the Battlefield community, with fans up in arms about its potential inclusion. Battlefield’s lead producer David Sirland attempted to clarify the use of SBMM with playtesters, in a post that was later shared to Reddit.
“Just for clarity–saying SBMM is bad is not really useful. What you really want to say is ‘Heavy SBMM where skill separation is a priority is bad,'” Sirland said in the post. “But that doesn’t make skill as a factor in matchmaking bad wholesale, on the contrary we need a skill value to make balanced teams–no matter the ranges of skills total on a server. It wouldn’t be fun if all high skill players ended up on the same team, would it?”
Sirland added that Battlefield 2042 also would be considered to have SBMM by this definition, and attempted to calm down the conversation by assuring fans that any SBMM used in Battlefield 6 would be applied with a light touch. The response to Sirland’s comments being shared to Reddit only reignited the discussion, prompting Battlefield’s global community manager T0TALfps to step in.
“Okay enough,” T0TALfps’s comment started, trying to put an end to the ongoing discourse. The community manager reminded players that the build that part of the BF Labs playtest is far from a finished game, and there is no guarantee that any feature in it will make it to the finish line in the same form. T0TALfps continued to tell off leakers who ignored NDAs to spread details about the early playtests.
“There is a specific time and place for the wider community to learn about new features and functionalities, and this is not it,” they said. “We will address various topics and expand participation in Battlefield Labs when appropriate, but the constant reposting of things is not that time or place. Individuals are and will continue to be removed if they continue to violate the NDA that they agreed to.”
It will likely be a while until we get more official details on the next Battlefield game–including its official title. According to a recent EA financial report, the company expects the game to release before March 2026. Interested players can still sign up for the Battlefield Labs playtest program in the meantime.
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