UPDATE: 2025/10/30 15:33 EST BY RICHARD WARREN
The EA Blog article that previously mentioned all Season 1 Battle Pass paths must be completed prior to accessing the seasonal paths has since been updated to remove that statement. In its place is a statement that "progress on these seasonal paths can be made concurrently while completing the regular Season 1 Battle Pass." It is unclear if this wording change means that players no longer need to get through the pass to access seasonal content. Original article is as follows.
Battlefield 6 has had a strange launch for its inaugural season. On one hand, Battlefield: RedSec is a strong battle royale experience that is getting more eyes on the franchise. Its destruction and map have been key points of praise, though for those who only like multiplayer, it’s been nothing but a source of ire. Battlefield 6 has been review bombed due to RedSec, with players lashing out at the BR for having the kind of map and destruction they want in the base game. It’s also been blamed, fairly or not, for the introduction of the battle pass and in-game store to BF6, while players are also unhappy that the pass features challenges that can only be completed in the BR mode. Sadly, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The main Battlefield subreddit has been an echo chamber for negativity, as players tired of the complaints have had to flee to alternate subreddits or social media platforms to discuss the game. Some Battlefield 6 players have pushed back against the negativity, growing tired of the endless complaints about colorful skins or map size. While the significance of these issues can be debated, it’s hard to argue against the outrage when it comes to other problems, such as the broken promises regarding progression through Battlefield Portal. Another issue that nobody is happy with is the seasonal events, as they take the concept of “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) to new heights.
Battlefield 6’s Problematic Event Approach Explained
Unlike most live-service games, where public events are completely separate from the main grind and players are free to unlock the rewards regardless of where they are in the battle pass, Battlefield 6 forces players to progress through the Season 1 pass just to have the chance at engaging with the smaller seasonal passes. And it’s not like they have to progress just a bit of the way through, either; players need to complete almost the entirety of the battle pass to access the seasonal events when they debut, as only the mastery tiers are exempt from the grind. This means that players need to hit tier 93 in the BF6 battle pass, and they don’t have long to do it.
It’s unclear how grindy Battlefield 6’s Season 1 event passes will be. Even if they’re small and simple to clear, though, players will have to push themselves if they want to get through the battle pass and get the chance to earn them.
Battlefield 6’s first seasonal reward path can be accessed starting on November 18 and disappears on December 9. It includes the DB 12 shotgun, and it’s currently unclear if this weapon will be unlockable after the event through challenges. Essentially, this gives players just 3 weeks to finish the battle pass in Battlefield 6 if they want the full 3 weeks of time to complete the California Resistance event. The second event, Ice Lock, also offers a special unlock in the form of the Ice Climbing Axe melee weapon. It begins on December 9 and ends when Season 1 does, likely in mid-January. FOMO around weaponry is a real fear for players since it’s unclear if there will be something like Call of Duty’s armory to obtain weapons after events, but it becomes even worse when there’s a huge battle pass grind required to even begin the extra seasonal grind.
This is all the more frustrating given Battlefield 6’s challenge-focused pass progression system. While players can progress via XP, those unlocks are extremely slow, and progression essentially slows to a halt once players have finished all their challenges for the week. Grinding out those challenges isn’t always something players enjoy — the aforementioned requirement to play Battlefield RedSec is a real point of frustration for some — but with the slow token unlocks for regular gameplay, there’s not much of a choice. With some of the challenges requiring wins in Battlefield 6 game modes players may not even like, this only becomes more tedious. Yet if players want to participate in the seasonal events, they have no choice but to push through that pain, and they have to do so as soon as possible.
There’s Still Hope for Battlefield 6 to Course Correct
While gamers are understandably outraged by this seasonal event reveal, arguing that they feel forced into buying a Battlefield PRO token or tier skips just so they’re able to unlock the new shotgun and melee weapon, perhaps Battlefield Studios will adjust its approach after seeing the pushback. After all, the developers already removed Battlefield 6’s most controversial skin and adjusted the brightness of the green color on another, which indicates that the teams working on the game are hearing the feedback. The quick reversion of Conquest’s ticket changes also supports this. While Battlefield 6’s skin critiques may be overblown in the eyes of some fans, especially given how tame and grounded its shop content is, it’s unlikely to find any player giving the seasonal event situation their stamp of approval. For now, all fans can do is make their voices heard, pointing to how virtually every other game handles seasonal events as an example of how things should change.
Battlefield 6
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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
