How to access the Battlefield 6 open beta, how to preload, and when it starts
The Battlefield 6 open beta is imminent, and for the most part, it really is an open beta. EA is running the playtest for two weekends, but there are a handful of ways to get two days of early access.
If you signed up for Battlefield Labs before July 31, you’ll automatically be granted access to the early bird days. There was also a chance to get a beta code via Twitch drops during last week’s reveal streams, but that window’s closed now.
The only surefire way to get early access at this point is to sign up for EA Play Pro, EA’s subscription service that lets you play all its new games on day one for $17 per month. That’s an extremely steep price if you’re only after those two extra days of BF6 beta, but if you’ve been meaning to play some other EA games anyway, then the option’s there.
How to access and preload the Battlefield 6 beta
Whether you’re playing in early access or waiting for the public beta, you’ll access the Battlefield 6 open beta the same way. Here are the direct links to the beta on every platform:
On top of the good news that Battlefield 6 won’t require the EA App on Steam, you also won’t need it to play the open beta. Just head to the BF6 Steam page and look for the “Join the playtest” button. If you’re a BF Labs member who played through the EA App, you should probably install the beta there to ensure you don’t run into issues.
Preloading is live on all platforms, so there’s no reason not to save some time by installing the ~40 GB package. You can even run it early to optimize shaders and tune your graphics settings ahead of time, but there’s nothing else to do in the menus until the main event.
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Battlefield 6 beta dates
The BF6 beta goes live at the same time on all platforms starting Thursday, August 7. EA has yet to say the exact hour that the beta begins, so we’re left to guess it’ll be sometime in the morning/early afternoon.
Weekend 1
- August 7 – August 8 (Early access)
- August 9 – August 10 (Open)
Weekend 2
- August 14 – August 17 (Open)
This is purely speculation, but we could see an extra day added to either beta weekend if EA’s servers crumble under the weight of BF6’s rapidly expanding hype. After all, Battlefield has a long history of launching with connectivity issues, though one would hope Battlefield Studio’s extensive Labs playtesting means it’s better prepared.
Battlefield 6’s full launch is coming on October 10. EA hasn’t announced any beta dates beyond the ones listed here, but we’ll let you know if they decide to run any more before launch.
