Battlefield 6 release live coverage – all the patch notes highlights, pre-launch information, and more you need to know before the FPS unlocks

And away we go! Battlefield 6 should be unlocking now for everyone. Be kind to those servers.

30 mins until launch, troops.

Guess that'll stop servers from falling over, though queues could get lengthy depending on how big launch is, which will be quite big, you'd expect.

Oops. Speaking of servers . . .

Enough about me, though - what about you?

One of the big questions I have heading into Battlefield 6 is the same of any game with a strong multiplayer element. Will the servers hold out?

I do feel like we're seeing fewer games get off to a rocky start these days, though you never know. At the very least, you might feel reassured that Battlefield 6 lead producer David Sirland reckons that servers "should be" ready for launch. That's what the betas are for, after all.

For our PC brethren, I sure hope your rigs are ready. Just this week, EA confirmed the final Battlefield 6 PC system requirements, which are basically the same as the set that "a substantial number" of beta players did not meet.

But hey, bonus points to 'em for actually breaking it down by FPS, resolution, and settings.

I return, more filled with lunch before. Hello to everyone joining us who might just be waking up, or simply running the clock down. We have two hours until Battlefield 6 launches.

Three hours to go, gang.

Also, if you're wondering whether the many leaks from the Battlefield Labs has put the developers off using it in the future, that'd be a nope. Design director Salim Fasahat says "Battlefield Labs has been a big part of dev for this game, and moving forward, it'll probably be a staple of development for us."

Whatever happens in Battlefield 6 and beyond, then, I'd expect Labs to play a part. About that naval warfare, then.

We've also been hearing plenty from the Battlefield Studios in the build-up, which is the collective studios of DICE, Criterion, Motive, and Ripple Effect. While you may remember the beta for all the memes about the wee maps, design director Salim Fasahat says there "was an intention" behind that, actually. Smaller maps are easier to test, and the plan was always to bring the bigger stages at launch. So stop being mean.

Our own features editor has been writing about Battlefield 6's campaign, saying it's "rooted in silliness," but in a nice way, as "after playing through all nine levels I wouldn't have it any other way."

Of course, Helldivers 2 this isn't, but I see what he means from reading the feature myself. The over-the-top campaign has you saving the president on numerous occasions, blowing up dams, and skydiving into Gibraltar to stop an invasion. All in a day's work, then.

We put it to you, dear reader.

Another highlight is that, after 92 million hours of open beta testing, Battlefield 6 devs have said that, yes, "requests for naval warfare have not gone unnoticed."

One for the future, maybe?

Next up, if you're looking for some reading, the full Battlefield 6 day one patch is 2,800 words long, taking a huge pass at movement, vehicles, and some of the best guns.

What's particularly interesting, though, is some of the developers' commentary in the build-up. A large part of that is encouraging fans that the option to play either open or closed loadouts is the right call. While some players feared that the Closed Weapons mode was unfairly buried in the beta, one DICE lead said, "We did measure how many people picked it based on where it was in menus.

As for own review, which is linked above, we gave the FPS a four-star score and thought it was "more refined than innovative."

"Battlefield 6 offers a carefully-crafted and layered multiplayer that strives to be its least threatening self, with innovation and creativity played down in favor of refining all the proven successes from the military genre," we say. "What's there will surprise nobody, but thrives when all those components come together – even if the single player can feel fairly threadbare as part of the package."

First things first, one of the most recent Battlefield 6-related things you might want to get caught up with is the reviews themselves, unless you're going in completely spoiler-free, of course.

According to Metacritic, Battlefield 6 is the highest-rated game in the series in a hot minute. The campaign doesn't come across greatly, though if you're here for the multiplayer, then the good news is that it proves to be the highlight for many.

In fairness, multiplayer is what many spend the majority of their time with, so I don't think many people will be too broken about that.

And away we go! Battlefield 6 day is upon us. Weird to say after how long ago Battlefield 2042 launched and what state it launched in, but we move.