Hardcore Mode in Battlefield 6 Main Menu – A Request from Veteran Players

But let’s not twist the cause and effect here. It’s not that Hardcore was  unpopular, it’s that it was buried, half supported, and treated like an afterthought. 

I'm not, we actually agree here. If Battlefield Studios intends to keep it a poorly supported mode, then it makes sense to wonder whether it's popular enough to give it priority over the modes that have seen more work put into them. If despite all of that, it's still very popular, then as I've mentioned before they should certainly include it.

Yet if it's a properly supported mode, then I feel like there's far more of a justification to add it to the main menu without first testing whether it is popular enough. 

As for your balance argument: that’s exactly why it belongs in the main menu. When a mode is treated as a core feature, it actually gets the developer attention and balancing it deserves. 

We sort of agree, but there's a slight difference in opinion here. Remember when you talked about twisting cause and effect? In my opinion, if a mode is treated with enough attention, it becomes a core feature and not the other way around. We do want the same though, a properly fleshed out hardcore experience.

So no, the solution isn’t to keep Hardcore sidelined until it’s perfect.

I've never posed this as a solution. I've simply used the hardcore mode as it has been designed in previous games as a reference point. I don't take it for granted that Battlefield studios will put effort into it, just because it's added to the main menu.

ghostflux​ 

You say we sort of agree, but the difference here isn’t small it’s fundamental. You keep framing Hardcore as something that might deserve main menu space if it’s given proper attention. But that’s exactly the trap that’s kept it sidelined for years: we’ll support it once it proves itself, but it can’t prove itself because we don’t support it. That’s circular logic, and it’s why Hardcore has never reached its full potential.

The reality is simple: visibility drives support, not the other way around. No developer is going to spend serious resources on a mode they themselves bury. If Hardcore sits in the main menu, it sends a clear signal  this mode matters. That visibility creates the very justification and developer attention you claim is missing.

So let’s not pretend it’s a chicken and egg problem. The egg has been scrambled over and over again by hiding Hardcore in submenus. The only way forward is to place it in the main menu and finally give it the chance it’s always been denied. Anything less just repeats the same failed cycle.

ghostflux​   I have to step in here because your reasoning against Hardcore in the main menu just doesn’t hold up. You keep saying that “it depends on popularity” or only if it’s supported enough, but that logic is completely flawed. Modes don’t magically become popular when they’re buried in submenus with zero promotion. If you hide it, you kill it. Period.  Battlefield’s history has proven this: every time Hardcore was sidelined, players had to dig through menus to even find it. Then the devs pointed to low numbers as an excuse for neglect. That’s not a reflection of player demand, it’s the direct result of how the mode was treated. You don’t measure popularity by starving something of visibility.  And about support: no mode ever starts out perfectly balanced. Conquest, Rush, Breakthrough all of them had balancing issues over the years, and yet they were always front and center, always supported, always given room to grow. Why should Hardcore be treated differently? If anything, it needs main menu placement more than any other mode, precisely so the developers and the community can refine it together.  Hardcore isn’t some gimmick or niche experiment. It’s part of Battlefield’s identity, and countless players consider it the most authentic way to experience the game. Putting it in the main menu doesn’t hurt you you can ignore it if you want but it gives those players the choice and visibility they’ve been denied for years. So let’s cut through the excuses: if Battlefield is serious about offering freedom, depth, and challenge, then Hardcore belongs in the main menu. Anything less is just repeating the same mistakes of the past

 Spotlight rotations are not enough  they come and go, and then the mode disappears again like it doesn’t matter. That’s not how you treat a community that’s been asking for this for years.

That's not what I've said. I've said that you can use spotlight rotations to gauge popularity to determine whether it deserves a permanent spot. If as you say, there's a sizeable community that's been asking for it, then like I've mentioned before, they should include it. I feel like I have to repeat this point a little bit too often, because everyone seems to ignore it.

And hiding it in submenus or temporary rotations makes the player base look smaller than it really is.

I've specifically mentioned multiple times in this thread that I'm against hiding it, it should be given proper visibility. If it's true temporary rotations draw less players, then you can still use it to gauge for popularity. You simply assign a proper weight per player to the measurement. Meaning that if only 20% of the players participates in temporary rotations, it means that you can expect that a permanent inclusion would draw 5x as many players. 

If the devs truly want to measure popularity, the only fair way is to give Hardcore the same visibility as other core modes.

Yeah, we agree.

ghostflux​ 

You keep repeating spotlight rotations as if that solves anything, but let’s be real: that’s exactly what has kept Hardcore from growing in the first place. Temporary rotations don’t gauge true popularity they artificially limit it. You can’t measure demand for a permanent feature by offering it as a part-time event. That’s like running Conquest once a month and then pretending the numbers prove it’s less important than other modes.

And about your weight per player argument that’s just theory. Real players don’t behave according to neat formulas. If Hardcore is hidden in a rotation, a huge part of the player base will never even notice it, much less play it. Visibility drives engagement, not statistical guesswork.

This is why I keep stressing the point: Hardcore won’t get fair numbers or fair support until it’s in the main menu, front and center. Only then can the studio see its real potential. Testing it in rotations first is nothing more than another excuse to sideline it  the same cycle we’ve seen for years.

So no, the community doesn’t need more experiments. It needs Hardcore to finally be treated as a core mode. That means main menu, permanent placement, no half-measures. Anything less is just stalling.

But that’s exactly the trap that’s kept it sidelined for years: we’ll support it once it proves itself, but it can’t prove itself because we don’t support it. That’s circular logic, and it’s why Hardcore has never reached its full potential.

That's not what I'm saying, this whole idea that it's circular logic is based on your misunderstanding of my argument. I'm making a clear distinction between the poorly supported version and the properly supported version. The way I see it, is that the poorly supported version has to prove itself, because it's essentially of a quality level that you'd expect from portal experiences. You'd not add every portal experience to the main menu either, unless it's really popular.

The properly supported version does not have the same necessity to prove itself, because the quality bar is much higher. Besides, the fact that Battlefield Studios would choose to support it, is justification to add it to the main menu in and of itself. Because like you said, why would they put development time, only for them to bury the game mode.

It's simply comes down to Battlefield Studios choosing to invest in the game mode. The point here is that they may have other considerations than I do, for why they may choose, or not choose to support it.

That visibility creates the very justification and developer attention you claim is missing.

Again, that's twisting things around. They first have to develop it (the properly supported version) and then they can add it to the main menu. Obviously after they've put in the effort and it's added, they have to continue supporting it based on player feedback. If they don't do it in this order, there's a sizeable part of the community that perhaps hasn't played hardcore before, gives it a try, walks away disappointed and never comes back.

It's going to get a bit confusing we end up responding to each other in multiple discussion chains. In our other discussion chain, we already made the distinction between the properly supported version and the poorly supported version. Remember, my response here is based whether the poorly supported version should be made permanent and not about the properly supported version. Since I've already mentioned that the properly supported version should be permanent.

Modes don’t magically become popular when they’re buried in submenus with zero promotion

I've never said they should be buried in submenus with zero promotion, in fact I've repeatedly said the exact opposite. So I could respond to the rest of your post, but that's entirely based on this flawed premise.

ghostflux​ 

You keep drawing this artificial line between a poorly supported and a “properly supported” version of Hardcore, but that’s exactly where your argument collapses. A mode doesn’t become “properly supported” in a vacuum it becomes properly supported when the studio commits to it, and that commitment is shown by placing it in the main menu.

No Battlefield mode ever launched in a flawless state. Conquest, Rush, Breakthrough they all started with balancing problems, yet they were given main menu visibility and constant iteration until they became the staples we know today. By your logic, none of those modes should have been front and center until they were properly supported. But that’s not how game development  or player engagement  works.

Hardcore will never “prove itself” if it’s constantly treated as a second-class citizen. Spotlight rotations, side menus, test runs that’s just another way of burying it while pretending it’s being given a chance. The only way to give it a real chance is permanent, main menu placement. Visibility first, refinement second  that’s how every successful Battlefield mode has ever evolved.

So let’s be clear: Hardcore doesn’t need to earn its right to exist. The community has asked for it for years, its identity is tied to Battlefield’s roots, and the only reason numbers ever looked weak is because it was deliberately hidden. Anything else is just moving the goalposts.

At this point, the argument isn’t whether Hardcore deserves the main menu. The only real question is whether Battlefield Studios wants to break the cycle of neglect, or repeat it.

A mode doesn’t become “properly supported” in a vacuum it becomes properly supported when the studio commits to it, and that commitment is shown by placing it in the main menu. 

I've already outlined the process in my previous response to you, where putting it in the main menu is only a single step in the process. However, it is by itself not sufficient proof of commitment. Commitment involves time, effort and continued support.

No Battlefield mode ever launched in a flawless state.

You seem to be thinking that I don't want it in the main menu until it's perfected. I've already in my previous response indicated that this is not the way I look at it. It's rather tiresome to have to address constant misconceptions about things that I haven't even said. I get that this for many is a subject they deeply care about. So, I understand that if I present myself in a way where I disagree on the details, it may come across as hostile, but that's certainly not the case. 

Having said that, you've been polite and our discussion was certainly interesting, so I'd like to thank you for that. We agree on the end goal, so let's leave it at that.