Battlefield 6 Aims High but Risks Overreach
Battlefield 6 is facing a seasonal delay just as player enthusiasm begins to wane. The creators behind Warhammer have experimented with generative AI but aren’t feeling particularly optimistic about it. Meanwhile, Eidos Montreal is hard at work on a major AAAA title, and fingers crossed, it’ll be an improvement over Skull and Bones.
In this latest edition of Morning Checkpoint, we dive into the daily gaming news, rumors, and culture. Fast forward to 2026, and my kids are all about playing Plants vs. Zombies—not the 2025 remaster, but the classic 2009 version on Xbox, thanks to backwards compatibility. They’ve completely ignored the games I got them for Christmas, highlighting the struggles the console gaming industry is currently facing.
The latest shooter sensation has been losing traction, with community feedback trending negative. REDSEC, in particular, has encountered some issues. It seems EA has decided to take a step back and reassess before rolling out Season 2. In a recent blog post, they stated, “During our ongoing development, we’ve continued to review community feedback and, in order to keep our promise, determined that our best path forward is to extend Season 1 and give ourselves extra time to further polish and refine Season 2.”
Season 2 is now set to launch on February 17 instead of January 20, meaning players will have to wait four months for just two new maps. If those maps aren’t substantial, it might not make much of a difference. Call of Duty has shifted to an ongoing platform model, and Battlefield 6 is attempting to adapt to this at launch, which is clearly stretching resources thin. Instead of a brief delay to fulfill current content promises, it might be more beneficial to focus on enhancing the core aspect of Battlefield 6 that players care about most—Big Maps.
According to a recent developer resume uncovered by Timur222, this project has been in the works since 2019 and has cost the studio significantly. Unfortunately, it’s not a new Deus Ex game. The Embracer-owned Canadian studio released Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy in 2021 but hasn’t launched a standalone project since. They’ve been involved in co-development on several Microsoft titles, including Grounded 2 and Fable, while also navigating multiple rounds of layoffs.
Games Workshop CEO Kevin Rountree recently addressed the contentious topic of AI during an earnings meeting after a profitable quarter. “We do have a few senior managers that are [experts on AI]: none are that excited about it yet,” he noted. “We have agreed on an internal policy to guide us, which is currently very cautious; for example, we do not allow AI-generated content or AI to be used in our design processes or its unauthorized use outside of GW, including in any of our competitions. We also need to monitor and protect ourselves from a data compliance, security, and governance perspective, as AI or machine learning engines seem to be automatically included on our devices whether we like it or not.”
Valve designer Lawrence Yang shared a helpful tip for developers: “One easy rule of thumb is that if your title is Verified on Steam Deck, it will be Verified on Steam Machine.” He mentioned that creators aiming for a “Steam Machine Verified” badge can expect “fewer constraints” than those on current handhelds, which could lead to a smoother process and more meaningful badges than some of the existing Steam Deck ones.
I overlooked an interesting detail from the dark fantasy RPG’s New Game+ showcase interview, but romance will indeed be a feature in the upcoming game from the developers of The Witcher 3. “There are romance options, yes,” director Mateusz Tomaskiewicz confirmed. “We didn’t delve deep into with whom yet, and I’ll leave that for the future to talk about. However, yes, you can expect to build relationships with characters.” This game is definitely one to keep an eye on; it’s among my most anticipated releases for 2026.
