Next week will mark the rollout of Battlefield 6's first season of post-launch content. As previously announced, Season 1 will be released in three phases, with new content — hardware, gadgets, maps, and weapons — arriving every month from now until the end of the year.
The first phase, Rogue Ops, begins on October 28th and will introduce the new Blackwell Fields map. We're also getting a new game mode, Strikepoint, along with some new vehicles and weapons.
Apparently, Rogue Ops isn't the only new content we'll be getting on October 28th. According to a new rumor, Battlefield 6's rumored free-to-play battle royale will also be released that same day.
According to the leak, the new battle royale experience will be called Battlefield: RedSec. It's not just a new game mode within Battlefield 6, but a full-fledged standalone experience that can be played by anyone for free, regardless of whether or not they own Battlefield 6.
There are rumors that the battle royale will feature 100 players in each match, with each match lasting around 25 minutes on average. It will also leverage BF6's destruction physics, with reports that the majority of the battle royale map will be destructible, including some major buildings.
EA or Battlefield Studios have not yet acknowledged Battlefield: RedSec in any of Battlefield 6's pre- or post-launch marketing material or roadmaps. It's not even mentioned in any of the Season 1 phases, which run through December.
And it sounds like we probably shouldn't expect any sort of formal announcement or details. According to the leak, Battlefield: RedSec will be shadow dropped on October 28th, the same day that Season 1 kicks off. If true, we can probably expect its launch to be accompanied by a trailer and some actual details about the new game.
Battlefield: RedSec is actually Battlefield's second attempt at a battle royale experience. Their first attempt was Firestorm, which was released in 2019 as part of Battlefield V. Developed by Criterion Games in collaboration with DICE, the battle royale experience featured up to 64 players fighting on a large scale map with destructible environments. The "storm" was a ring of fire that closed in on players.
Firestorm was praised by players but ultimately failed due to a lack of content and limited updates. The fact that it was also tied to Battlefield V and not released as standalone free-to-play experience like Warzone or Apex Legends also made it difficult to grow the game with new players.
Battlefield 6’s record-breaking launch and acclaimed gameplay, combined with the possibility of RedSec launching as a completely free title, could attract a wider audience and give it a real chance to compete with established battle royale games.