EA finally unveils Battlefield 6's battle royale mode: testing begins this week, the shrinking ring insta-kills you, and "destruction will be everywhere"

EA has officially announced Battlefield 6's long rumored battle royale mode, and it's coming to Battlefield Labs this week.

"Battle Royale, the Battlefield way," as EA bills it, was revealed in news post on EA's official website, with an in-depth breakdown of its features.

"We see a great opportunity to infuse the core Battlefield pillars of class-based squadplay, tactical destruction, and vehicle combat into the Battle Royale genre to create a high-stakes and adrenaline pumping gameplay experience," says EA. "This is Battlefield's twist on the classic formula, so you can expect to find all of the core principles of Battlefield taking place within this mode; gadgets, explosives, destructible environments, and vehicles can all be used to secure the win."

The battle royale's map has been tailor-made for 100-player rounds split into 25 four-player squads and "features a diverse array of tactical Points of Interest, each with distinct layouts and themes that offer unique gameplay opportunities."

There will be "common transport vehicles" scattered around the map in order to help players explore the map more efficiently in the early stages of the game when the ring around it is biggest, as well as to "create interesting combined arms action in the process."

EA says "destruction will be everywhere in this mode" and that players will be able to create pathways through walls and even topple buildings using various gadgets and explosives in destructible environments. "We look forward to seeing players' ingenuity with destruction and how they use it to defeat their opponents."

Like the most popular battle royales, the Battlefield BR will gives you "multiple tools to keep your squad in the fight" when someone's downed, including the Support class's ability to revive as well as various mobile redeploy options.

The highlight and most unique feature of this battle royale is the shrinking ring itself, which EA says is "the most dangerous ring in gaming to Battle Royale that instantly kills players upon contact." You'll know when the ring is approaching thanks to an onscreen warning, but if you don't heed that warning and end up caught in its grip, "you are done."

"There's no jumping in and out of it, no using it for cover, no walking through it," EA says.

The actual meat of the gameplay sounds like pretty standard BR fare, where players drop down, explore the map, complete missions, and fight for loot as the circle around the map pushes everyone into closer and closer quarters. This one has five tiers of weapons as well as attachments, explosives, gadgets like RPGs, air strikes, armor, and "custom drops of favorited weapons."

Battlefield 6 will let four-player squads decide whether they want a balanced team of four different classes, or a "focused" one where everyone's the same class. That said, once you've chosen your classes, they're locked in for the duration of the match.

As you work your way around the map, defeat enemies, and complete mission objectives, you'll level up through your class's unique Training and earn new traits that enhance that class. "One example would be the Assault class being faster in equipping an armor plate which makes them harder to defeat in their next (or current) firefight," EA says.

The publisher also says it'll be keeping an eye on how squads choose to navigate classes and builds for balance. For example, it'll look at things like the usefulness of the Support class's supply crate and the effectiveness of the Engineer's abilities in combatting vehicles. And in general, the whole point of Battlefield Labs is to test out new features and take on feedback from players so that the full release is as optimized as possible.

If you just can't wait to jump in later this week and you want an early look at Battlefield 6's battle royale map, well, let's just say it shouldn't be too hard to find some footage out there.

Or, check out our guide to the best FPS games you can play while waiting for Battlefield 6's October 10 release date.