According to Wccftech, Battlefield 6 sold over 7 million copies in its first three days and maintains strong player counts with Steam concurrent users never dipping below 200,000. Despite the commercial success, players have been complaining about the game’s progression grind, particularly around challenges and assignments that unlock weapons and battle pass tiers. EA and Battlefield Studios are now pushing a “major overhaul” to address these concerns based on gameplay data and player feedback. The update makes significant reductions to challenge requirements, cutting down time investment while maintaining skill-driven progression. Over 90 specific adjustments are being implemented, including weapon damage requirements dropping from 10,000 to 3,000 and multi-kill goals being reduced from twenty down to just five. Mode-specific assignments now only require two wins per tier instead of five, making progression much more achievable within reasonable play sessions.
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Why This Matters
Here’s the thing about live service games – player retention is everything. Battlefield 6 had a fantastic launch, but you can’t coast on initial sales when you’re competing in today’s shooter market. The fact that players were farming XP in bot matches should have been the first clue that something was off with the progression system. When your most dedicated players are actively looking for ways to avoid playing your game as intended, you’ve got a problem.
And let’s be honest – nobody wants to feel like they’re working a second job when they’re trying to unwind with a video game. The original requirements were just excessive. Twenty multi-kills? Five wins per tier? That’s the kind of grind that makes casual players just give up and play something else. EA basically had two choices here: keep fighting the symptom (XP farming) or fix the actual disease (progression design). They chose wisely.
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This move is classic damage control mixed with smart business. Battlefield 6 needs to maintain its strong player numbers to justify continued development and seasonal content. If players get frustrated and leave, the entire live service model collapses. By acting quickly – we’re only about a month post-launch – EA shows they’re listening and willing to course-correct.
The timing is crucial too. We’re heading into the holiday season when player counts typically spike. You don’t want new players hitting that progression wall and bouncing off. Making unlocks more accessible means more people stick around to potentially spend money on battle passes and cosmetics. It’s a long-term play that sacrifices some artificial engagement metrics for actual player satisfaction.
What’s Next
Battlefield Studios confirmed on Twitter that these changes are guided by “defined playtime targets,” which suggests they’ve actually done the math on how long things should take. That’s promising – it means future content will probably be better tuned from the start.
But here’s my question: why does this keep happening with major game launches? We see the same pattern over and over – excessive grind at launch, player backlash, then eventual fixes. You’d think studios would learn from each other’s mistakes. At least EA is responding faster than some publishers have in the past.
The real test will be whether these changes are enough to keep players engaged through the first season and beyond. If the progression feels rewarding without being oppressive, Battlefield 6 could maintain its momentum. If not? Well, let’s just say the shooter market isn’t exactly lacking for alternatives these days.
