How to access the Battlefield 6 open beta, how to preload, and when it starts

The Battlefield 6 open beta is imminent, and for the most part, it really is an open beta. EA is running the playtest for two weekends, but there are a handful of ways to get two days of early access.

If you signed up for Battlefield Labs before July 31, you'll automatically be granted access to the early bird days. There was also a chance to get a beta code via Twitch drops during last week's reveal streams, but that window's closed now.

The only surefire way to get early access at this point is to sign up for EA Play Pro, EA's subscription service that lets you play all its new games on day one for $17 per month. That's an extremely steep price if you're only after those two extra days of BF6 beta, but if you've been meaning to play some other EA games anyway, then the option's there.

How to access and preload the Battlefield 6 beta

Whether you're playing in early access or waiting for the public beta, you'll access the Battlefield 6 open beta the same way. Here are the direct links to the beta on every platform:

• Steam
• EA App
• PS5
• Xbox

On top of the good news that Battlefield 6 won't require the EA App on Steam, you also won't need it to play the open beta. Just head to the BF6 Steam page and look for the "Join the playtest" button. If you're a BF Labs member who played through the EA App, you should probably install the beta there to ensure you don't run into issues.

Preloading is live on all platforms, so there's no reason not to save some time by installing the ~40 GB package. You can even run it early to optimize shaders and tune your graphics settings ahead of time, but there's nothing else to do in the menus until the main event.

Battlefield 6 beta dates

Battlefield 6 Open Beta Trailer - YouTube

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The BF6 beta goes live at the same time on all platforms starting Thursday, August 7. EA has yet to say the exact hour that the beta begins, so we're left to guess it'll be sometime in the morning/early afternoon.

Weekend 1

• August 7 - August 8 (Early access)
• August 9 - August 10 (Open)

Weekend 2

• August 14 - August 17 (Open)

This is purely speculation, but we could see an extra day added to either beta weekend if EA's servers crumble under the weight of BF6's rapidly expanding hype. After all, Battlefield has a long history of launching with connectivity issues, though one would hope Battlefield Studio's extensive Labs playtesting means it's better prepared.

Battlefield 6's full launch is coming on October 10. EA hasn't announced any beta dates beyond the ones listed here, but we'll let you know if they decide to run any more before launch.

All Battlefield 6 beta rewards and how to earn them

You can earn a handful of rewards for participating in the Battlefield 6 beta, which will carry over into the full game when it launches in October. There are two different sets of rewards to earn over the two beta weekends, so you'll have to play during both to earn everything. Presumably, since the first weekend's rewards are primarily based on your account level, you can make progress towards these during the two-day early access period, too.

Here are all the BF6 beta rewards:

Weekend 1

• Lights Out player card: Reach level 10
• Rising Star character skin: Reach level 15
• Night Terror weapon charm: Reach level 20
• Striking Distance weapon package: Get 50 Close Quarter Kills (within 10m) as Assault
• Own the Night weapon sticker: Revive 100 teammates as Support
• After Dark weapon sticker: Repair 3000 health to vehicles as Engineer
• Seeker character skin: Spot 300 Enemies as Recon

Weekend 2

• War Machine vehicle skin: Capture 42 flags in Conquest, Domination or King of the Hill
• Bat Company dog tag: Get 200 kills or assists
• Dominion weapon package: Capture ten sectors in Breakthrough or Rush

All Battlefield 6 Twitch Drops

Alongside the exclusive rewards you can earn by playing during the open beta periods, there are also unique rewards for watching the Battlefield 6 beta over on Twitch. By watching any Drops-enabled streamer during the two open beta weekends (August 9-10 and 14-17), you can unlock these Battlefield 6 Twitch Drops:

• Watch for 1 hour: Mimic weapons package
• Watch for 2 hours: Landslide soldier skin
• Watch for 3 hours: Shattered vehicle skin
• Watch for 4 hours: Imperial soldier skin

All you need to do to start earning these beta Twitch Drops is link your EA and Twitch accounts, and then watch creators streaming Battlefield 6 when the beta is active.

Once you've earned a reward, it'll appear in your Drops Inventory. Redeem them here, and you'll be given a code to enter over on the Battlefield code redemption page. You won't be able to access these rewards until the game fully launches in October, so just sit tight for now.