Battlefield 6 beta start times, pre-load, content, Early Access, PC specs and everything else you need to know
The big Battlefield 6 multiplayer showcase has really delivered. Battlefield Studios came out swinging with all kinds of reveals, and with a passion to go deep on many of the core features of the upcoming game.
The event brought us so many hours of gameplay to dissect, but also big news, and announcements. Details about the impending beta were confirmed, too, which is what we’re here to recap.
In this guide, we’re going to list all available information about the Battlefield 6 beta for you to go through. We know a lot of details about the beta right now, but some have yet to be confirmed. We’ll update this guide as soon as they’re announced.
Before we get started, you should definitely make sure your EA account is linked to whichever platform you’re going to be playing the beta on. This is true for PC and consoles, so better get it done now before servers get hammered.
Battlefield 6 beta start date and time
The Battlefield 6 open beta takes place over two weekends. Both weekends are available across all platforms – PC (Steam, EA App, EGS), PS5, Xbox Series X/S – and neither requires pre-ordering the game or jumping through any kind of hoops to access.
However, there is an early access period that takes place prior to the start of the first weekend, but even getting into that is easy.
Early Access
Before the first weekend of the Battlefield 6 beta begins, some lucky few will be able to play it two days early. The Early Access period takes place Thursday, August 7 to Friday, August 8. After which, servers will go offline to prepare for the first weekend.
Here’s when servers will go live on August 7:
- 1am PT.
- 4am ET.
- 9am UK.
- 12pm GST.
How to play the Battlefield 6 beta early
As mentioned, the Battlefield 6 beta does have an Early Access period that won’t be available to everyone. Unlike most modern games, however, you won’t need to pre-order a copy of the full game to play early.
If you watched any of the content creators in attendance at the recent Battlefield 6 multiplayer reveal event, you may have already won an Early Access beta code. That opportunity has already passed, however, but you may have one other option…
If you’re among the millions who signed up for Battlefield Labs when it was initially started back in February, you’re already guaranteed access to the Early Access portion of the beta – even if you did not actually end up getting into any of the Labs tests.
In fact, you don’t even need a code, as your EA Account – the one you signed up with – will be automatically granted beta access. So long as you’ve registered for Labs before July 31, you’re good to go.
If neither option is on the table for you, you may still end up getting a beta code from a random giveaway on social media, as those tend to pop up once servers go live and people start playing, so don’t fret.
Weekend One
Weekend One of the Battlefield 6 beta is short, taking place Saturday, August 9 to Sunday, August 10. This period is open to all players; simply download the beta client on your console or PC and start playing.
Here’s when servers will go live on August 9:
- 1am PT.
- 4am ET.
- 9am UK.
- 12pm GST.
Servers will go offline at the same times above on August 11, ending the first weekend.
Weekend Two
Weekend Two of the Battlefield 6 beta is the longest, kicking off Thursday, August 14 and ending Sunday, August 17. Like the first weekend, the beta client is freely available to download.
If you already have the beta installed from the previous weekend, you’ll just need to update it and you’re good to go.
Here’s when servers will go live on August 14:
- 1am PT.
- 4am ET.
- 9am UK.
- 12pm GST.
Once servers go down on August 17 (at the same times listed above), you’ll no longer be able to play, so plan accordingly.
Battlefield 6 beta pre-load times
EA is offering everyone a fairly generous pre-load window for the Battlefield 6 beta. The pre-load will go live across all platforms as early as Monday, August 4 at the times below:
- 8am PT.
- 11am ET.
- 4pm UK.
- 7pm GST.
The pre-load will be available on the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, and on PC visa Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the EA App. Download sizes will vary, but EA has yet to announce exact file sizes for any platform.
Battlefield 6 beta content
EA said the Battlefield 6 beta is the largest in series history, in terms of content. We know that several of the game’s nine launch maps will be playable in the beta, and at least three core modes will be present, too.
As to the full slate of content, however, we’ve yet to get a detailed rundown. We’re also not sure whether content is going to be changing between weekends, though it’s possible that the maps/modes roster will be expanding the deeper into each beta weekend we get.
Battlefield 6 beta PC requirements
Before we dig into the PC specs needed to play the Battlefield 6 beta smoothly, you should know that the game uses EA’s kernel-level Javelin Anticheat. This won’t be a problem for most players, as they may already have other anticheat services that require the same access installed on their PCs – BattlEye, and Easy Anti-Cheat to name a few.
However, if you’ve somehow not played a multiplayer game in the last several years, you’ll need to enable Secure Boot in your Windows install, which means your PC hardware would need to support TPM 2.0. Here’s how to do that.
Minimum PC specs
- Graphics Target: 1080p at 30fps, Low Settings.
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, Intel Arc A380.
- VRAM: 6GB.
- CPU: Intel Core i5-8400, AMD Ryzen 5 2600.
- RAM: 16GB Dual Channel at 2133mhz.
- OS: Windows 10 with Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling.
- DirectX: 12.
Recommended PC specs
- Graphics Target: 1440p at 60fps, High Settings (Balanced upscaling). 1080p at 80fps+, Low Settings (Performance upscaling).
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 3060Ti, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, Intel Arc B580.
- VRAM: 8GB.
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10700, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.
- RAM: 16GB Dual Channel at 3200mhz.
- OS: Windows 11 64-bit.
- DirectX: 12.