Battlefield 6 Offers One-Week Free Access Amid Declining Player Engagement

Battlefield 6 will be available for free for a limited time next week. From March 17 to March 24, players can experience a taste of what Battlefield 6 has to offer by downloading and playing Battlefield RedSec, a free-to-play battle royale mode during this trial period.

The free trial will feature three distinct playlists, each showcasing a variety of gameplay modes. The Nightfall playlist includes classic modes like Team Deathmatch, but with a twist—matches are set in darkness, requiring night vision goggles to navigate. All-Out Warfare brings back some of Battlefield 6’s traditional objective-based gameplay, while Casual Breakthrough is designed for newcomers, featuring matches filled with bots as both allies and opponents.

This free trial arrives during a challenging time for Battlefield 6 and its development teams. Reports indicate that EA recently laid off an unspecified number of staff at Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios, all part of the Battlefield Studios umbrella. EA stated, “We’ve made select changes within our Battlefield organization to better align our teams around what matters most to our community.” These layoffs occurred despite Battlefield 6’s impressive launch, selling over 7 million copies within three days and becoming the best-selling game of 2025, surpassing the latest Call of Duty title.

However, player engagement has declined in recent months. According to SteamDB charts, which provide the only publicly accessible player count data, only a small fraction of players are still logging into Battlefield 6 five months post-launch, when it peaked at nearly 750,000 concurrent players on Steam.

Recent reviews have also been mixed, with Battlefield 6 holding a “mixed” rating on Steam. One player expressed a desire for more positive content, stating, “I really want to leave a positive review; I will still play it but really wish the team would focus on creating maps and permanent content rather than limited-time stuff that doesn’t have a lasting impact on the game or mechanics.” Concerns have been raised about the game’s battle pass and the suspicion that some cosmetics may be AI-generated.

If you’re interested in exploring Battlefield 6 for yourself, the free trial kicks off on Tuesday, March 17, at 11 a.m. EDT. Here are the modes you can look forward to:

Nightfall

All-Out Warfare

Casual Breakthrough