The Battlefield 6 beta is here, and hundreds of thousands of players have already tried it out. However, the maps in particular are causing controversy.
Good map design is essential for shooters like Battlefield 6 and has to take many factors into account: cover, running routes, space for vehicles, lines of sight, placement of capture points, and so on. However, since the beta launch, the community has been criticizing the maps, or more specifically, their size.
Opinions are also extremely divided among BF influencers:
We’re not crying about Urban Maps.
We’re asking for maps that aren’t JUST urban meat grinders.
But you know that. https://t.co/3lF3DEJDpx
— Bigfry🍟 (@BigfryTV) August 8, 2025
Like in Call of Duty
The Battlefield series has been known for years for its large battles with 64 players, tanks, planes, and sometimes even boats.
Such arsenals naturally require large maps where the vehicles and aircraft have enough space to maneuver and a real battlefield atmosphere can be created.
The three maps in the Battlefield 6 beta are sufficient for this, but some players still find them too small. For example, Infinite_Lab1492 writes on Reddit:
The maps are way too small. I played 6 or 7 rounds. […] It feels like I can’t run for 20 seconds without getting attacked. The game feels more like Call of Duty in that regard. […] Not a good first impression.
Infinite_Lab’s post received a lot of praise in the form of 3,000 upvotes and comments, but there was also some backlash:
First people beg DICE to bring back maps like Seine Crossing or Grand Bazaar, then they complain that the maps are too small. You really can’t please this fanbase.
bilbo crabbins
Map conversation from BF2042 to today.
by
u/lilKamo in
Battlefield
However, supporters of the criticism of the Battlefield 6 maps also counter this argument:
It’s almost as if there’s a middle ground. We need a selection of small and large maps. Besides, it’s not necessarily the same people who are complaining [about Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield 6].
The maps in [Battlefield] 2042 were huge, empty areas. The maps in Battlefield 6 are tiny, squashed areas. The fanbase just wants something in between, like in Battlefield 3, 4, 5 or 1.
Content creator MoiDawg writes that Battlefield deliberately opted for smaller maps for the beta. The goal: to test and refine infantry balance, TTK, and small-scale vehicle combat. If they can pull that off, the game will be good overall, he argues.
Battlefield intentionally released small maps for the beta.
Infantry balance, TTK/TTD, limited vehicle combat, classes… Nail THAT and the game will be good.
And these smaller modes are bringing over MASSIVE CoD communities. That’s HUGE.
Show them what they’re missing.
— MoiDawg (@MoiDawg) August 8, 2025
In addition, the small modes would bring large parts of the CoD community on board for the beta (and thus for the Battlefield brand as a whole).
The beta has already broken the CoD record on Steam. Many see this as a sign of who will win the big shooter showdown in October. As some fans have pointed out, not all Battlefield 6 maps are playable in the open beta, of course.
Maps such as Operation Firestorm, New Sobek, and Manhattan Bridge could be significantly larger than the maps in the beta. Mirak Valley is even said to be the largest map at the release of Battlefield 6:
Of course, it’s also possible that the developers chose maps that are as small as possible for the beta in order to give us as much action as possible in as little time as possible.
After all, DICE is certainly using the beta to collect a lot of data on player behavior and possible improvements, and denser maps are probably better suited for this.
