Battlefield Redsec is out now: Here's everything EA told us about it last week

The cat is out of the bag. Battlefield Redsec is EA's next battle royale contender, and it's out now. That means starting today, Battlefield 6 is basically two games: the base multiplayer/campaign package that costs $70, and the free-to-play Redsec battle royale included within.

What is Battlefield Redsec? It's a 100-player battle royale, primarily, with some Battlefield qualities that EA hopes will set it apart. "We don't want to just be another battle royale game," said Ripple Effect design director Justin Wiebe in a briefing video shared with PC Gamer ahead of Redsec's launch.

Destruction appears on par with Battlefield 6 maps in Redsec, vehicles serve as important power weapons, and its big ol' ring of fire will instantly kill squads who fall behind the action. Alongside battle royale is Gauntlet, a 32-player squads mode that sounds a bit more casual and familiar for core Battlefield fans.

Here's the full rundown on what we know about Battlefield Redsec.

Battlefield Redsec is free-to-play in the Battlefield 6 launcher

Redsec is Battlefield's stab at Call of Duty: Warzone in more ways than one. Similar to the 2020 battle royale, Redsec is a free-to-play mode nestled within the larger Battlefield 6 package. You can play everything within Redsec (that's Battle Royale and Gauntlet, primarily) for free. According to EA, you can play Battlefield 6 and Redsec from the same Battlefield 6 launcher.

XP and battle passes are shared between Redsec and Battlefield 6

Redsec and Battlefield 6 will share account XP and battle pass progression, but each game will maintain its own challenges and unlocks.

Welcome to Fort Lyndon

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"Part So-Cal beach community, part military blacksite" is how EA described Fort Lyndon, Redsec's California map. Fort Lyndon is the biggest map ever created for a Battlefield game, and it supports the same "tactical destruction" seen in Battlefield 6 maps—some smaller buildings can be reduced to their foundation while others can only be remodeled by knocking down a few walls.

In the launch trailer, we see at least one skyscraper that can be completely leveled with enough explosive damage—a small taste of Battlefield 4 "Levolution" in Redsec.

Classes work differently in Redsec

Just like in the Battlefield 6 base game, you pick between four classes before entering a Redsec match: Assault, Engineer, Support, and Recon. Your class doesn't dictate what weapons you can or can't use, but it does determine your signature gadgets and passive traits.

Most class gadgets in Redsec are unchanged from the base game, but class traits have been tweaked to fit a battle royale context. EA offered Assault as an example: it still has the ladder, but its Redsec perk replenishes armor faster and increases gadget regen rate.

Support, meanwhile, can carry extra ammo and armor plates by default in Redsec. Support traits allow you to revive teammates to full health, which is standard in Battlefield 6 but comes at a premium in Redsec.

EA also mentioned how Training Paths differ in Redsec. In Redsec, Training Paths are progressed by finding intel caches on the map or by completing mid-match missions. The Engineer can upgrade their RPG into a guided missile while Recons can upgrade their drones to drop bombs.

Redsec has two modes: Battle royale and Gauntlet

Battle royale will support 100 players in either Squads or Duos. That means at launch, there is no solo queue in Redsec.

Gauntlet is a 32-player, squad-based elimination mode. Similar to The Finals' tournament-style modes, squads in Gauntlet compete to complete the most objectives over four rounds. Only the top squads in each round move onto the next, with a final round between just two squads deciding the winner. There are eight objective types in Gauntlet with more to come after launch.

Tanks are special unlocks in Battle Royale

As expected, vehicles play a big role in Redsec, but they aren't as readily available as in Battlefield 6. Transports jeeps and helicopters can be found on the map, but tanks are sought-after power weapons that require special keycards to unlock on the map.

Custom loadouts are harder to get in Redsec than in Call of Duty: Warzone

It is possible to acquire customized guns in Redsec, but it sounds like they'll be a rarer thing than in Call of Duty: Warzone. In a statement to PC Gamer, EA said there are two ways to get a custom loadout in Battlefield Redsec:

1. Select a mission that has a custom loadout as a reward and complete that.
2. A global event that drops custom loadouts over the map. Getting a loadout this way will potentially be riskier, as there are fewer drops than squads.

Battlefield Redsec supports Portal

Great news for map makers. The entire Fort Lyndon map will be available in Portal, with a small caveat: The map is divided into individual chunks that are editable within Portal. Custom modes and maps made with Redsec assets are compatible with everything in base Battlefield 6, but free-to-play players who don't own BF6 will only be able to play Redesec-only content.

It's sorta like how Garry's Mod will serve up missing texture errors if you don't own Counter-Strike or Half-Life.

"Redsec" stands for what now?

Blink and you'll miss it, but in the launch trailer you can see that Redsec is a portmanteau of "Redacted Sector," presumably referring to the military blacksite map Fort Lyndon. I didn't much care for the name before that revelation, and now it's even cheesier.