Last month, EA confirmed that it had "validated a solid foundation for a core Battlefield experience," and would be expanding its playtests to include more people. To that end, the publisher has announced it will be hosting a Pre-Alpha Server Performance Test for the upcoming Battlefield game, colloquially referred to as Battlefield 6.
The Pre-Alpha Server Performance Test for Battlefield 6 will take place this weekend and will be accessible to those in Europe, North America, and select areas of Asia. It's invite-only and only for a limited time. Those interested can sign up to participate through Battlefield Labs.
"Our primary focus for this test will be to verify server performance and stability with increased player counts throughout a full weekend," EA announced. "During this time we will have a select group of maps and modes available for play."
The test will begin on Friday, May 23 at 10AM CEST (4:00 AM EDT), and will only run for 72 hours. It's unclear how many people will be invited to participate, though EA notes there will be a "limited number of invites." After the initial wave of invites, there will be a "gradual entry" into the test throughout the weekend.
This will also be a closed playtest which likely means you'll have to sign an NDA. It also probably means that recording or sharing gameplay footage will be prohibited, but that hasn't stopped the dozens of gameplay videos from past playtests from leaking.
"Exploring new ideas for the future and receiving direct player feedback continues to be a crucial aspect of the Battlefield Labs process," EA wrote earlier this month when first announcing plans to expand its playtests. "Even if some ideas never reach release, it helps us understand and refine elements that resonate most with players as we continue to build Battlefield together. It's been a valuable and exciting experience for our team and community so far, and we're looking forward to continuing that collaboration alongside you!"
EA has still not announced when Battlefield 6 will be released, but the publisher did narrow its launch window. During a recent earnings call, EA announced that the next Battlefield will launch within the fiscal year 2026, which means sometime before March 2026.
That is outside of the traditional window for its biggest competitor, Call of Duty, but it could mean going up against a potentially bigger heavy-hitter in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar announced that it's upcoming action-adventure will release in May, so it may not be immediate competition for Battlefield.