After years of leaks and rumors and months of subtle but not specific confirmations, Battlefield 6's free-to-play Battle Royale mode is finally out. Launches alongside Battlefield 6 Season 1, Battlefield: RedSec drops the player into Fort Lyndon, a gigantic map filled with distinctive POIs, engaging quests, and 99 other players all out to take each other down.
But just as long Battlefield fans remember all too well, Battlefield 6: RedSec is not the first Battle Royale mode in the franchise. Back in March 2019, Battlefield V added a Battle Royale mode called “Firestorm”. While the mode itself is fondly remembered, EA's handling of post-launch support is not. Looking back six years later, it's interesting to see how well Firestorm has aged and how Battlefield 6: RedSec builds on its foundation.
Compare Battlefield 6: RedSec with Battlefield V: Firestorm
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Features in Battlefield V: Firestorm |
Features in Battlefield 6: RedSec |
|---|---|
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Lobbies for 64 players |
Lobbies for 100 players |
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Class selection only affects cosmetics |
Each class has unique perks and abilities |
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World War II setting |
Modern environments |
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Capturing points rewards supply reductions |
Completing quests rewards supply drops |
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Land vehicles are dotted around the map and a tank can be retrieved by opening a bunker |
Land vehicles and boats are dotted around the map and a tank can be claimed by completing missions that grant vehicle key cards |
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Can be played in Solos, Duos or Squads |
Battle Royale can be played in Duos and Quads. It also has Initiation Battle Royale mode and Gauntlet mode |
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Teammates can be revived with a flare gun |
Teammates can be revived by visiting a Redeploy Tower |
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Used Battlefield V movement and shooting mechanics |
Used Battlefield 6 movement and shooting mechanics, including new features like drag and revive |
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Had to pay for Battlefield V to access it |
Free to play for everyone on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S |
How Battlefield 6: RedSec's Fort Lyndon compares to Firestorm's Halvoy
One of the most obvious differences between Battlefield 6: RedSec and Battlefield V: Firestorm is each game's setting. Much like its campaign and multiplayer component, Battlefield VThe Firestorm mode was set during the height of World War II. Of course, this meant that Firestorm's weapons, vehicles, character skins, and level architecture were inspired by that era. Battlefield 6: RedSecon the other hand, has a current setting (2027-2028), so all its weapons, vehicles, skins and level architecture are inspired by modern design.
As for the maps themselves, Firestorm's Halvoy and RedSec's Fort Lyndon differ quite a bit. While Firestorm's map was once the largest map in Battlefield history, RedSecs seems to trump it, at least if the number of POIs is anything to go by. While Halvoy had an impressive 15 POIs scattered around its mountainous map, Fort Lyndon has a staggering 21, covering an even wider range of locations such as golf courses, chemical plants, shopping districts and marinas.
The ever-approaching 'Storm' is presented a little differently in Firestorm and RedSec. In Firestorm, it's a literal ring of fire that destroys buildings, burns the player, and obscures their vision. In RedSec, it's an encircling ring of never-ending explosions.
Battlefield 6: RedSec has exclusive game mechanics
Another major difference between Battlefields Firestorm mode and Battlefield 6: RedSec is how both Battle Royales actually play. Despite Firestorm's release in 2019 Battlefield V mechanics hold up very well today, but of course they're not quite as smooth as those found in RedSec.
Battlefield 6The RedSec mode also benefits from a host of mechanics not seen before Battlefield items, such as the ability to drag teammates along when knocked down and revive them behind cover. Classes also play a role in RedSec's moment-to-moment gameplay. While they were simply cosmetics in Firestorm, RedSec's classes give players unique perks and abilities, like Assault's grenade launcher and their ability to place ladders.
Battlefield 6: RedSec is also home to some Battle Royale-specific mechanics that Firestorm didn't have, like custom weapon drops, Redeploy Towers, and a variety of quests that reward groups with rare loot. Thanks to games like Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzoneand Fortnitethese mechanics have become staples of the battle royale genre over the past few years, but they weren't quite the norm when Firestorm was released in 2019.
Battlefield 6: RedSec has new Battle Royale modes
Where Battlefield V's Firestorm mode offered solo, duo and squad variants of its battle royale mode, Battlefield 6: RedSec has some additional and tweaked modes:
- Battle Royale – Only Duos and Quads at launch, no Solos or Trios
- Initiation Battle Royale – A tutorial mode with bots that has a maximum of 48 players
- Gauntlet – Eight teams complete four sets of missions. The two squads with the lowest points after each mission are eliminated
Battlefield 6: RedSec is free to play
But probably the most important difference between Battlefield V: Firestorm and Battlefield 6: RedSec the big thing is that the latter is completely free to play. While Firestorm received praise at launch in March 2019, it was locked behind a purchase of Battlefield V.
Fixed Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode, released a few months earlier, was also kept behind a paywall, its base game not met with as mixed a reception. Fortnite had also set a new free-to-play precedent almost two years before Firestorms was released. It also didn't help that EA released Apex Legends just a month after Firestorm, which delivers a similar “mature” Battle Royale experience but without the cost.
Given the current climate in the gaming industry, Battlefield 6: RedSec going free-to-play is absolutely the right move. And with it dropping two weeks after Battlefield 6it's managing to capitalize on the goodwill surrounding the base game and strike while the iron is hot, while not shooting itself in the foot by offering a free-to-play alternative outright that uses many of the same mechanics.
- Released
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10 October 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, User Interaction
- Developer
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Battlefield Studios
