Battlefield 6 custom search issues are "by design in some ways" because the devs don't want you sitting through "a long timer"

If you're in the mood for a particular map or mode in Battlefield 6, the custom search option is meant to quickly get you there. But, as you may have noticed, it'll often dump you to a match completely unrelated to your chosen settings. The devs say that's by design, as they don't want you to wait too long to get into the action, but it sounds like changes are on the table.

Global community manager Kevin Johnson has offered "a little bit of context" about the custom search on Twitter, as its propensity to not actually give you what you want is "by design in some ways." In essence, the custom search simply prioritizes your preferences – but if it can't immediately get you into the match you actually want, it'll try to get you into something close enough. Or not close at all, as the case may be.

"The Custom Search tries to prioritize your selection first and looks among available servers, status of matches, your region, etc," Johnson explains. "It will then try to expand the scope of its search and work down its list to find the next available match with other alternatives. It does this to ensure you're playing more quickly rather than waiting on a long timer. This is explained within the Custom Search function."

Producer Alexia Christofi also took to Twitter to ask fans, "If there was a toggle for happy to wait to get what I want, would you use it?" This kind of toggle is something the devs have "definitely discussed internally - it's a tough balance between finding people a game without waiting too long and getting them exactly what they want, but if we could offer players the choice, I'd be happyyyy."

There is no Battlefield 6 server browser in a traditional sense, as the Portal system serves a similar purpose – but that won't get you into any official servers running the standard outlay of maps and modes.

Check out our guide to Battlefield 6 classes.