Does Battlefield need a BR? Proposal: ranked mid-size team modes instead
I'd like to share some honest feedback about REDSEC and the direction of Battlefield's multiplayer.
1. Why enter an already saturated BR market?
The battle royale genre has seen countless titles launch and shut down, and the winners are already established: Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone. Apex is even published by EA itself. I struggle to understand the business reasoning behind making a BR the centerpiece, competing directly with them and partly with EA's own product. Gauntlet is genuinely unique to Battlefield, but it sits inside a BR-focused package rather than being the main pillar.
2. Matchmaking outside major regions
From what I hear, BR matchmaking in Asia is quite thin. A mode that needs a large number of players per match will suffer most in regions with smaller populations, and long queues push players away.
3. A proposal: 8v8 / 12v12 / 16v16 objective-based team modes
Instead of competing in the BR space, Battlefield could build on what only it offers (vehicles, destruction, squad play, objectives) in a mid-size competitive team format.
Almost no direct competitor in this space
It keeps Battlefield's identity instead of borrowing another genre's
Smaller lobbies make matchmaking easier in low-population regions
Pro teams may not want rosters of 8–16 players, but this could grow from the grassroots, like rec leagues or beer leagues in amateur sports, through community teams, clans and custom tournaments. Gauntlet already shows that squad-vs-squad objective play works in Battlefield. Why not build on that?
4. "But BR brings in new players"
REDSEC did bring a big spike at launch, but I think that was largely because it was free, not because it was a BR. If free-to-play is what draws people in, a free mid-size team mode could do the same. And if REDSEC really worked as an entry point, why hasn't the core game's population recovered?
5. Why small-team modes failed before, and why ranked matters
Some may point out that BFV's smaller Squad Conquest never took off. I think the reason was simple: there was no ranked system. Players won't invest time in an unfamiliar ruleset with no progression or competitive goal. Meanwhile, REDSEC received a Ranked BR queue in Season 3. If ranked is what keeps players in a mode, why not give it to a format that actually plays to Battlefield's strengths?
6. Avoid splitting development resources
Right now, development and content seem split between REDSEC and core modes like Conquest. A team mode built on the same maps, vehicles and gameplay systems as Conquest would put that investment back into Battlefield's core.
I'm curious to hear what the devs and other players think.
