Battlefield 6 devs say the plan was to launch with bigger maps "all along," and that the beta's notoriously smaller maps "were intentionally smaller than the ones we know are coming" in the full FPS
Smaller maps were apparently easier to test out
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Battlefield 6's beta maps got some flack for being on the smaller side - at least, as far as the series' mammoth war grounds go - but the game's developers are just "super excited" for people to check out the meatier maps that were planned "all along."
Speaking to PC Gamer Magazine's 415 issue, design director Salim Fasahat explained there "was an intention" behind the maps unlocked in the shooter's beta: "They were intentionally smaller than the ones we know are coming."
"This is for a few reasons, but that was planned to get a better idea of some of the different modes, the scale at which they operate, what kind of modes work with what types of maps, and there's a lot of good stuff that's come out of that," Fasahat continued, before saying the team is "super excited to have people explore all of those maps."
Technical director Christian Buhl also explained that the beta's choice of maps was down to logistical reasons, and aren't indicative of how big the full game's titular battlefields are. "In some ways it's easier to test and focus on gun play when we're doing the smaller maps," he said.
"So those were the ones we started with. And also, technically, it's easier... you know, we've been planning on launching with these maps all along, but you know this is the first time we're going to put some of the really big maps onto BF Labs."
Battlefield Studios' grand plan appears to be working out, as the new shooter's Metacritic score is the best the series has achieved in years, although it hasn't quite reached the heights of Battlefield 3. Our own Battlefield 6 review said it's "deep enough to be tactical and simple enough to be accessible, and though the single player evokes little more than a shrug, the multiplayer will have people consistently coming back for more."
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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