The Battlefield 6 campaign is getting absolutely demolished by early preview coverage, and it’s not looking good just two weeks before the October 10 launch. Content creator BigfryTV recently shared their unfiltered thoughts after playing through three missions from the single-player portion:
I can confidently say that after playing these three missions, the single player portion of the Battlefield 6 package will be the weakest part of the game by far.
That’s not exactly the kind of endorsement EA and DICE were hoping for this close to release. When someone who covers games for a living comes out swinging that hard against your campaign, you know there are problems.
Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson added even more concerning context to these worries:
I know a lot of people won't play Battlefield 6 for the campaign, but it looks like it needs a lot of work. It probably makes what would be a high 80s/low 90s Metacritic game a mid-70s at the moment.
These warnings paint a concerning picture for a franchise trying to recover from Battlefield 2042‘s rocky reception. Poor review scores could seriously damage the game’s commercial prospects and long-term reputation.
What Makes the Battlefield 6 Campaign So Disappointing According to Critics
Multiple preview outlets have pointed to the same recurring issues that make the campaign feel outdated and frustrating. AI squadmates apparently can’t handle basic navigation or provide meaningful combat support during missions.
Enemy AI performs even worse, with soldiers reportedly standing around looking confused instead of engaging in believable firefights. Character animations feel dated and cheap, more reminiscent of budget indie games than a massive AAA production.
So far, the Battlefield 6 campaign is satisfied being a Call of Duty cover band.
PC Gamer‘s above take hits particularly hard because it addresses the identity crisis plaguing modern Battlefield entries. The single-player experience should leverage what makes the franchise special, not copy homework from other military shooters.
The linear mission design also conflicts with everything players expect from Battlefield. People want destructible environments and multiple approaches to objectives, not narrow shooting galleries that could belong in any generic military game from the past decade.
These fundamental design decisions—unfortunately for anyone still holding out hope for a better-than-mediocre single-player experience—point to some deeper development problems that can’t be patched away before launch.
Why Campaign Quality Actually Matters More Than You Think
The inevitable “who buys Battlefield for the single-player?” comments are already flooding social media threads everywhere. But dismissing single-player quality ignores the uncomfortable reality about modern gaming perception and business.
Buying a battlefield game for the campaign is nonsense.
What many people fail to realize is that this gatekeeping attitude is exactly what hurts the franchise’s long-term growth. Not everyone wants to deal with multiplayer lobbies filled with cheaters and toxic players, after all:
I’m the weirdo that only plays the single player campaign for COD/Battlefield games.
No interest in multiplayer shooters with randos, personally. I’m too old to compete with the reaction times of 15-20 year olds, and half of them are cheating anyways.
Hopefully it’s decent.
That is the reality for many players who’ve been priced out of competitive multiplayer by younger, more dedicated audiences. These customers still pay full price and deserve quality content for their money.
I know that Battlefield single player campaigns are hit or miss and not even the meat and potatoes of the game, but I hoped that they would cook something great this time
Remember how Battlefield 2042‘s missing campaign became a major criticism point? EA clearly heard that feedback and invested significant development resources into bringing single-player back. If those resources produced something genuinely disappointing, that money could have gone toward multiplayer polish or post-launch content instead.
The Metacritic score impact Henderson mentioned isn’t trivial either. Review aggregator scores heavily influence mainstream gaming perception, and a mid-70s rating gets labeled as “decent but flawed” rather than “must-play.” That perception affects sales numbers, community growth, and the franchise’s reputation in ways that can extend far beyond launch week.
Do you think campaign quality matters for multiplayer-focused franchises like Battlefield? Should EA have skipped single-player entirely and focused development resources elsewhere? Let us know in the comments below!
