Battlefield 6 design director Shashank Uchil has commented on the game's controversial map sizes. The latest comments are an interesting insight into why Battlefield 6's maps feel as small as they do in the open beta.
Throughout the open beta so far, Battlefield 6's map sizes have come in for a lot of criticism from players. Some believe that they feel far too small, and are more akin to what might be expected from Call of Duty's Ground War game mode rather than a typical Battlefield experience. It's worth remembering that the open beta isn't representative of all the final Battlefield 6 maps, but the criticism is still valid regardless. While feedback from the open beta has been largely very positive, this has been a particular sticking point for players.
PSA: An Important Battlefield 6 Feature is Disabled By Default, But You Should Turn It Back On
Battlefield 6 players discover that an important feature is disabled by default, although it's easy to turn it back on.
Battlefield 6 Developer Believes "Scale Is Not Everything"
Speaking to VGC at the recent Battlefield 6 multiplayer reveal event, design director Shashank Uchil claimed that "we want to make a map that suits every type of player. They could be infantry players. So we want to make sure we have good infantry maps. Maybe a player who likes tanks, vehicles. OK, let’s make a map that’s good for infantry and tanks. You know what? I like helicopters. Let’s make a map for that. And then the jets... So let’s make a map that caters to them as well." This will allow Battlefield 6's maps to focus on specialization, even if it comes at the expense of an all-round option for more variety. On paper, it seems like a map design philosophy that will inspire players to have strong feelings one way or the other.
As for the much-criticized scale of Battlefield 6's open beta maps, Uchil said, "Scale is not everything. Right? Well, just because you have X kilometers doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good map, because then if you make a really big, map, you’re going to fill it up with stuff. Then it becomes more of an open world. And then you start compromising on a bunch of stuff." So while Battlefield 6's maps may not be large enough for some players' taste, it's good to know that there's a conscious design decision driving it.
Despite a few player complaints here and there, the Battlefield 6 open beta has smashed franchise records so far. It is already the biggest open beta in Battlefield history, and has set the stage for its full release on October 10 to be a smash hit. EA is clearly betting big on Battlefield 6 being a success, and it looks set to be a solid gamble if the full release can live up to the hype.
Battlefield 6
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- October 10, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Battlefield Studios
- Publisher(s)
- EA
