Battlefield 6 is free to play for a week in Season 2, but the free trial has a huge catch — I don't understand why the devs are making the same mistake again

Electronic Arts' and Battlefield Studios' Battlefield 6 — the best-selling game of 2025, and one of the most popular new shooter games on the market — has been made free to play for a week across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 in the wake of the game's new Season 2 Nightfall update that added the new infantry-focused Hagental Base map.

The free trial will remain available until it ends on March 24 next week, and can be accessed in the menu of the free-to-play Battlefield REDSEC battle royale experience (it shares one with the full Battlefield 6 game). Notably, all progression you make during the free trial, including for your career level, gear ranks for attachment unlocks, and challenge completions for weapons and class gadgets, will carry over if you decide to buy the game.

There is one major catch, though: only a limited selection of Battlefield 6's multiplayer content is available to try, which is a big issue I had with the free trial the devs offered back in November, too. That free trial failed to boost the game's player count, and I can't help but worry this one will as well.

Now, to be fair, the selection of content in this free trial is a major step up from what interested players had available to them last time. The previous trial had quality maps like Siege of Cairo and Eastwood along with core modes like Conquest and Breakthrough, but also had the widely disliked Blackwell Fields stage, and lacked Battlefield 6's hugely popular Escalation mode.

This one includes Season 1's Eastwood again, along with Season 2's excellent Contaminated map, Hagental Base, and Mirak Valley from the base game — notable for being one of Battlefield 6's only true large-scale maps with lots of complex interactions between infantry, vehicles, and aircraft. It also has Escalation alongside Conquest and Breakthrough, along with smaller-scale modes like Team Deathmatch and Domination.

Season 2 Free Trial Week | Battlefield 6 - YouTube

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Even though the content on offer this time around is substantially better, though, I can't help but wonder why Battlefield Studios doesn't just let people try the entirety of Battlefield 6's multiplayer suite for a week. I mean, really, what's the harm in doing so?

This is the kind of game that you play tons of matches in long-term, with tons of different dynamic sandbox interactions ensuring that no two games ever play out the same way. Therefore, I hardly think you'd be letting people play too much for free by letting them try all the maps.

If anything, you'd just be allowing potential fans to try out all the map styles Battlefield 6 has to offer. Sure, the ones available in this trial let you experience both large-scale action and meat grinder-style infantry combat reminiscent of what you'd get in classic maps such as Operation Metro and Operation Locker, but it lacks stages such as Manhattan Bridge, Iberian Offensive, or Siege of Cairo — medium-sized maps where vehicles have a limited presence, but still intersect with infantry in tight streets and alleyways.

Overall, with Battlefield 6 Season 2 failing to reignite widespread interest in the game after its player count plummeted in early January due to disappointing updates and poor live service support, Battlefield Studios should be doing everything it can to attract players when it holds free trials like these. And being stingy with the content offered in them is the opposite of that.

Notably, this free trial also comes after EA laid off Battlefield 6 devs recently, with the publisher stating that the cuts were made "to better align our teams around what matters most to our community."

🗨️ Are you going to try Battlefield 6?

Now that Battlefield 6 is free to play for a week, I'm curious to hear from anyone who doesn't own it. Will you try the game out while it's free? Have you played Battlefield before? Do you generally enjoy shooter games, or are they not really your thing?

Let me know in the comments below, and vote in our community poll too:

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Battlefield 6 (Xbox): was $69.99 now $32 at Amazon

Battlefield 6 was the biggest, best-selling game of 2025, and the multiplayer FPS is on sale right now for some sweet discounts. Though normally $69.99, it's currently available for just over $30 on Xbox and for $40 on PS5, which are some incredible deals.

PS5 version: $39.99 at Amazon

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