EA has seemingly begun its playtests for Battlefield Labs. Announced back in February, the company has begun sending out emails to players that had registered for Battlefield Labs about the playtest, which will take place for two hours, and will be on PC.
According to Insider Gaming, the email sent out by EA mentions that the playtest will be done in a “closed test environment.” Players will also be not allowed to stream or record any of the playtest, and discussion has also been prohibited.
Battlefield Labs is a new way that EA will be using to test the next game in the franchise. Overseen by a team composed of DICE, Motive, Ripple Effect and Criterion, Battlefield Labs is a “place for us to test concepts and experiences we’re excited about with you, our players.”
The company has also made it clear that those that register for Battlefield Labs and get selected for various playtests will only be able to do so under NDA. On the other hand, this also allows Battlefield fans to have a greater say in how the game is being developed, and it allows the developers to get feedback on various aspects of the title.
The next Battlefield game is currently in its pre-alpha stages, and will be a prime target for playtests through Battlefield Labs. To kick things off, testing will first revolve around “core combat and destruction.” Future playtests will expand the scope and gather player feedback on more aspects like weapons, vehicles, and gadgets.
It is worth noting that invitations to playtests will be limited to a “few thousand” players that register for Battlefield Labs in Europe and North America. There are, however, plans to expand this audience to more territories as well.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson revealed in February that the next Battlefield game is in development, and is targeting a launch before April 2026. This would fall in line with rumours from last year indicating that the next Battlefield game might be coming out in October 2025.
Considering the fact that the game is still quite early in development, however, it is entirely possible that the launch window will get pushed back if more time is needed by the development team.
Need for Speed developer Criterion is also seemingly taking a big role in the development of the new Battlefield. EA executive Vince Zampella had revealed last month that Criterion is working on the Battlefield game for now.
“The Need for Speed team at Criterion are joining their colleagues working on Battlefield,” he said. “As a company, it was important to us to take the last year to listen to our Need for Speed community and use their feedback to create content for Unbound.”
While concrete details on Battlefield are currently sparse, rumours from back in September 2024 have indicated that the game might feature a campaign set in the late 2020s. The story of the upcoming game is rumoured to revolve around conflicts between a private military group and NATO, and will take place in different locations all over the world.