Battlefield 6 Open Weapons Playlist Is the “Path Forward,” But Will Support Closed Playlists Claims Studio
It seems that the community has spoken. According to DICE and the Battlefield Studios, the Open Weapons Playlist (which allows unrestricted class guns) was the most popular playlist option among players.
This isn’t just data based on what was played the most, but rather based on those who played both, as a vast majority ended up returning to the open playlist after trying out the closed one based on the studio’s data.
A Vast Majority of Battlefield 6 Players That Played Open and Closed Weapons Playlists Went Back to Open
The hot debate in the Battlefield community to lock weapons to classes continues to rage on, though likely not for much longer, as data from the recent open beta for Battlefield 6 has finally given us where players really stand. According to Battlefield Studios in a new X (formerly Twitter) post, a significant number of players who tried out both playlists ultimately returned to the Open Weapons experience.
“There were no differences of note for time players spent in combat between Open and Closed Weapon playlist types. The actual differences were only fractions of a percentage where, rounded up, the results were identical.
Lastly, another key insight from the Open Beta was that the vast majority of players, after trying both playlist types, chose to stick with Open Weapons. This reinforces our belief that Open Weapons is the right path forward for Battlefield 6.”
It appears that open weapons will be the future of Battlefield, although for those who prefer the classic Battlefield experience, there is some good news. At launch, there will be official Closed Weapons playlists available to choose from. Additionally, Closed Weapons mutators will remain as an option for Portal Experiences for those who want them.
For those big Closed Weapons fans out there thinking that the classic experience also promoted more teamwork and better class synergy, it seems that actually wasn’t the case during the open beta, as the team also published some statistics between the two playlists that show differences to be minimal.
Class Pick Rates:
The map layout was the main deciding factor for class picks. For example, Support had a higher pick rate on Siege of Cairo which is a CQC focused map. On Iberian Offensive with more long distance combat opportunities, we saw an increased pick rate for Recon.
Comparing between Open and Closed Weapon playlists we observed mostly identical class pick rates with 1-2% difference at most.
Match Length:
Match duration increased slightly within Closed Weapons playlists by up to 45 seconds, or about a 3.75% difference for both Breakthrough and Conquest.
Revives:
We also observed a slightly higher revive rate for Closed Weapons at 3% for Breakthrough, and 2% for Conquest, which coincides with the slightly longer match duration.
There you have it, Open Weapons is going to be the way forward for the franchise. The players have voted with their selections, and although it may be hard to believe for some long-time Battlefield fans, the data doesn’t lie, so we’re told.
Battlefield 6 launches on October 10 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. If you search really hard, you may be lucky enough to find an early retail copy with the game’s servers reportedly already live. As a reminder to those who pre-ordered digitally, pre-loads are now live.
Those playing on PC will also want to read our Battlefield 6 PC guide to make sure they’re ready ahead of the launch.
Also of note, DICE has confirmed there will be a day-one update, which will house over 200 fixes and improvements.
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