The long wait Battlefield 6 is almost finished, but that doesn’t stop fans from wondering if the multiplayer is better with open or closed weapon courses.
EA and the four-company team at Battlefield Studios will release their newest entry in the large-scale military shooter series this Friday, October 10 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S (find out when, exactly, here). With a new campaign, Guns, Gadgets and Maps, the developers behind Battlefield 6 have told fans to expect a return to form after the disappointment that was Battlefield 2042.
Beta and Battlefield Labs players are largely excited for what Battlefield 6 promises, but the debate surrounding open and closed weapons is the main thing on fans’ minds with just two days until launch.
The conversation folded when players became active during Battleground’s August 6 beta testing. While many past Battleground games feature closed weapons – a design decision that locks classes to a specific set of guns – many were surprised to see the new Battleground game add and prioritize an option for open weapons, which largely removes gun restrictions between classes.
This open style is similar to the system used in Battlefield 2042, but it’s not the bad taste in players’ mouths that has them bickering. Closed gun advocates argue that these restrictions encourage players not only to think on their feet, but also to rely on teamwork, a key element for many longtime fans of the series. The system could also pour cold water on meta-gameplay strategies that could result in an unbalanced number of players relying on a particularly powerful gun.
Those on the other side of the fence believe that open weapons give players of all skill levels more freedom to create a loadout that fits their playstyle while rewarding those who choose specific loadouts. While perhaps not as vocal, there are plenty of players who feel open that fillers are the way to go – and BF Studios agrees.
Battlefield Studios says players prefer open weapons
The debate continued until earlier this week, when BF Studios offered A pre-release breakdown for its Battleground 6 launch day planspreview of its day one patch content for those eagerly awaiting in-game changes following post-beta feedback. It came alongside confirmation that the data indicated “a large majority of players” preferred the open system more than the closed system after trying both options between different playlists.
“This reinforces our belief that open weapons are the right path forward for Battlefield 6,” explains the message from BF Studios. “At the same time, we recognize that some players prefer the closed weapon experience. To support them, official Closed Weapons playlists will be available at launch.”
No matter how closed-minded fans of the method are, BF Studios is adamant that players primarily gravitate toward an open system, even though Battlefield 6 will continue to support both options. Meanwhile, many have only used this latest update as fuel to continue their mission to see this week’s new battlefield game focus on the closed system.
Their argument revolves around the idea that open beta players only favor open weapons, because the relevant playlist options are the first to appear on Battlefield 6’s multiplayer menu screen. So the idea is that, if your average player, who doesn’t know the speech, starts the game, they will have to dig for a closed option, resulting in skewed data.
This is a criticism that many rely on and which EA and BF studios have already intervened to trample on. Battleground Producer Leading Dice David Sirland taken from x/twitter To explain how the team arrived at their conclusion. He addresses the argument that closed playlist options were hidden from players, reminding disgruntled fans that the playlist and mode tiles often moved around, and their data took that into account.
“Yes, they moved around a lot, as you may have noticed,” Sirland said said in response to a fan asking for clarification. “We did this on every frame, (conquest) vs (breakthrough) etc. See how tile placement impact rates and how the single-mode vs multi-mode playlist differed, etc.”
Sirland’s explanation still hasn’t quite put the uproar to rest, as a third of the Battlefield 6 community is demanding more answers while another third is expressing support for open playlists more than ever. This last third especially wants the fights to end.
Brutal truth:
Casuals won’t care about closed weapons. Or open weapons. Or even what weapon they use most of the time.
They just want to play battlefield 👍 https://t.co/3x2cqyxgxl
– Westie (@mrprowestie) October 6, 2025
Preparing for launch
As BF Studios and EA barrel toward the launch of Battlefield 6, disgruntled fans continue to take to comment sections on social media to ask developers to give closed playlists more time in the spotlight. Complaints and memes mocking the situation have flooded Reddit, with many user responses calling out the debaters as simply a vocal minority.
“I would be surprised if the open vs. closed gun debate represents more than 10% of players,” a The popular commentary says. “I think 10% is very generous lol,” another answered.
Battlefield 6, open vs closed pic.twitter.com/hffyez2npw
– it’s real. (@TheAgentofDoom) August 14, 2025
We asked Ripple Effect about their feelings surrounding the open versus closed arms debate During an interview last month. At the time, senior console combat designer Matthew Nickerson said the team didn’t want to “make a decision or really pigeonhole” how players experience Battlefield 6.
“I think it’s ongoing, and I think it will continually evolve, but again, from a design side, we don’t want to make a decision for the player base at the end of the day,” Nickerson added. “We want to support both moving forward, and again, a key mantra for Battlefield 6 is, ‘Play the battlefield the way you want it,’ so we’re making sure we support both open and closed systems. We just don’t want to make the decision for the player.”
It’s unclear if EA and BF Studios intend to address the open versus closed weapons debate before Battleground 6 launches. With the recent reaffirmation, reaffirming its commitment to the open system while reassuring players that options will remain available, it appears BF Studios won’t be changing course at any time.
Based on our time with the Battlefield 6 Beta, we have a BF6 beginner’s guide and tips, as well as the best Battlefield 6 loadouts and how to use the Finder Range, deploy the bipod, and how to turn off haptic feedback in Battlefield 6.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He is best known for his work on sites like The Pitch, The Escapist and Onlysp. Be sure to give him a follow on bluesky (@mikcripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@mikecripe).
