Battlefield 6 Battle Royale Map Leaked as Developers Confirm No Ray Tracing Support at Launch
The long-rumored Battle Royale mode for Battlefield 6 has seemingly been confirmed following the appearance of leaked footage online. The video, first shared on the Chinese video platform Bilibili and later reuploaded on Streamable, provides the first concrete look at the large-scale map designed for the mode. While Electronic Arts had not mentioned Battle Royale as part of the game’s launch package, this leak strongly suggests that the mode is in active testing and likely planned as a post-launch addition.
The Road to Battlefield 6 Battle Royale
Speculation about the inclusion of a Battle Royale mode in Battlefield 6 dates back to early 2024, when well-known leaker Tom Henderson reported that the new entry in the series would include a BR mode alongside its traditional large-scale multiplayer. Henderson’s report also correctly predicted the game’s October 2025 release window, lending further credibility to the claim.
However, as time went on, it became evident that Battle Royale would not be part of the launch offering. Content creator rivalXfactor highlighted this point earlier this year, and EA itself did not mention Battle Royale when it announced the official lineup of game modes for release. Still, indications of the mode’s existence never disappeared. Dataminers uncovered references to a Battle Royale mode in the game files more than two months ago, while the official Battlefield Labs account later teased its inclusion in the game’s testing program.
The newly surfaced gameplay video appears to confirm that the Battle Royale map is now being tested, likely through Battlefield Labs’ limited-access playtests. Although Electronic Arts has yet to comment publicly, the most likely scenario is that Battle Royale will be introduced as a free post-launch update, once developers are confident that the mode is balanced and ready for release.
Why Battle Royale Matters for EA’s Ambitions
Electronic Arts has reportedly set an internal target of 100 million players for Battlefield 6, a goal that would be difficult to reach through the franchise’s traditional modes alone. While the Battlefield 6 beta was praised by long-time fans for refining the classic formula of massive combined-arms combat, the audience for that type of gameplay is far smaller than the tens of millions who regularly play Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Fortnite.
A free-to-play Battle Royale offering would be essential to attract a broader player base. By providing a highly competitive, large-scale alternative to existing BR giants, Battlefield 6 could draw new players into its ecosystem while complementing the core multiplayer modes that form the backbone of the series.
No Ray Tracing Support at Launch
In addition to the Battle Royale leak, developers have also addressed a separate technical question that arose during the recent beta weekends. PC players noticed the absence of ray tracing options in the graphics settings, sparking speculation that the feature had been quietly removed. This has now been confirmed by Christian Buhl, Studio Technical Director at Ripple Effect (formerly DICE LA), in an interview with Comicbook.com.
Buhl stated:
“No, we are not going to have ray-tracing when the game launches and we don’t have any plans in the near future for it either. That was because we wanted to focus on performance. We wanted to make sure that all of our effort was focused on making the game as optimized as possible for the default settings and the default users. So, we just made the decision relatively early on that we just weren’t going to do ray-tracing and again, it was mostly so that we could focus on making sure it was performance for everyone else.”
The decision represents a noticeable shift for the franchise. Battlefield V (2018) was one of the first PC titles to support ray-traced reflections, while Battlefield 2042 (2021) implemented ray-traced ambient occlusion. By contrast, Battlefield 6 will forgo ray tracing entirely at launch, reflecting a design philosophy focused on optimization and competitive play rather than cutting-edge visual features.
Performance First Approach
While the absence of ray tracing may disappoint some, Battlefield 6 still includes advanced upscaling and frame generation technologies to maximize performance across hardware platforms:
NVIDIA GeForce users can enable DLSS Super Resolution, Frame Generation, and Multi Frame Generation.
AMD Radeon users gain access to FSR 3 with Frame Generation.
Intel Arc users can take advantage of XeSS with Frame Generation.
This ensures that players across all major GPU ecosystems can scale performance for smoother gameplay, a critical factor for a fast-paced competitive shooter.
Battlefield 6 Release Date
Battlefield 6 is scheduled for release on October 10, 2025, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. With its largest beta turnout in franchise history already behind it, anticipation for launch is high. The eventual arrival of a free Battle Royale mode could prove decisive in shaping the game’s long-term success and helping EA reach its ambitious player count targets.
Do you think a post-launch Battle Royale mode will be enough to compete with Warzone, Apex Legends, and Fortnite, or has EA waited too long to enter the BR arena?
