The Battlefield 6 battle royale ring will instantly kill anyone caught in it: 'There's no jumping in and out of it, no using it for cover, no walking through it'

We've finally got a few details about the incoming Battlefield battle royale mode, which was teased during the Battlefield 6 reveal event and is rumored to be a free-to-play mode coming sometime after the October launch of Battlefield 6 itself.

In a Steam post about an upcoming Battlefield Labs test of the mode, the developers explain how they intend to fuse the battle royale format with the "core Battlefield pillars of class-based squadplay, tactical destruction, and vehicle combat"

One unusual decision is to deliver instant death to anyone caught in the circle that closes around the map.

"We set out to bring the most dangerous ring in gaming to Battle Royale that instantly kills players upon contact," wrote the dev team. "With urgent warnings as the fire approaches, soldiers will be pushed into more intense firefights as the game space continues to shrink.

"There's no jumping in and out of it, no using it for cover, no walking through it—if you get caught in it, you are done. We're excited to see how the ring affects the pace of the game and how it creates spontaneous showdowns."

I've seen a clip or two of players camping the edge of the circle in Apex Legends and other battle royale games, which seems fun in its own way (at least for the campers), and honestly it had never occurred to me to imagine what it would be like if the ring were less of a stern warning and more of an absolute smiting.

Maybe that'll be the magic ingredient that makes this battle royale mode stand out amid so much competition?

The post also confirms some other, more expected details about the mode:

• It's set on a new map and will include transport and armored vehicles
• The map will feature destruction that allows "creating pathways through walls" and "toppling buildings"
• Loot will include "five tiers of weapons" plus "attachments, throwables (Ex. Frag Grenades), gadgets (Ex. RPGs), Strike Packages (Ex. Air Strike), armor, upgrade kits, and custom drops of favorited weapons."
• Support class revives and "Mobile Redeploy options" offer second chances for downed squadmates

This is attempt number two at a hit Battlefield battle royale mode after Battlefield 5's Firestorm mode. EA also tried an extraction-type mode in Battlefield 2042, but it didn't last long. Third time's the charm?

Those interested in participating in the upcoming test of the battle royale mode can sign up for Battlefield Labs. We don't actually have a proper name for the mode yet, as EA's just calling it "a Battle Royale built on Battlefield's unique DNA," but that does make it sound like something that will be distributed separately from Battlefield 6 proper—it's unclear at the moment.

Battlefield 6 will be out on October 10, 2025, and after a couple public betas, sentiment has been pretty positive, give or take an amount of the usual criticism and consternation over things like the UI, map size, class design, and anti-cheat methods.

Is this finally the year that a Battlefield game is bigger than the annual Call of Duty release? Could be!