What's wrong with Battlefield 6 Open Beta?

The Battlefield 6 second weekend beta arrived with more game modes and customization options, but it’s also brought serious matchmaking issues, DLSS glitches, and extra hoops for PC players due to Secure Boot. EA and DICE say they’re working on fixes, while the anti-cheat system has already kicked out 330,000 cheaters since the first beta. Playlists have expanded for more variety, and new map-mode controls are live, but the technical troubles are hard to ignore.

The beta went live today and runs until Sunday, August 17, across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Week two comes with several changes to make gameplay feel more varied. All-Out Warfare now rotates between Breakthrough, Conquest, and Rush, while custom search lets players prioritize specific map-mode combinations, like Conquest on Siege of Cairo. This isn’t a full server browser, but it’s a step toward giving players more control over their experience.

The playlists change daily during the beta. Thursday brings Conquest, Rush, and smaller fast-paced modes like Domination and King of the Hill. Friday adds Squad Deathmatch, while Saturday and Sunday continue the mix, with large-scale All-Out Warfare battles alongside close-quarters options. Training Grounds remains available for target practice and learning the basics, while Initiation Mode offers matches against AI soldiers for players at career rank 15 or below.

Unfortunately, while the extra choice is welcome, many players can’t make the most of it due to widespread matchmaking failures. Reports flooded in within minutes of the beta’s launch, with complaints ranging from not being able to join friends, to being locked out of matches entirely, to constant crashes. Some who had a smooth first beta weekend are hitting roadblocks now. EA’s official Battlefield Reddit account confirmed the problems and promised a fix “as soon as possible,” advising players to ensure their EA client is fully updated.

DLSS and DLAA support is also broken in the beta. According to EA, the root cause has been found and the features should be restored later today. Until then, players using NVIDIA’s performance-enhancing tools are out of luck.

The Secure Boot requirement for PC players continues to stir discussion. It’s part of Battlefield 6’s anti-cheat system, Javelin, which runs at the kernel level. Secure Boot must be enabled in the BIOS before the game will launch. This has caught some off guard, especially since Javelin can also conflict with other games’ anti-cheat systems, like Riot’s Vanguard, if both are installed.

Despite the hurdles, the beta is massive in scale. EA says it’s the biggest in Battlefield history, with industry analysts predicting it could outsell Call of Duty this year. But its size also makes it a target for cheaters. Battlefield’s anti-cheat team revealed that Javelin has blocked over 300,000 cheating attempts during the beta, with 330,000 cheaters banned outright in the first round. Over 100,000 additional accounts have been flagged for review.

One EA Anti-Cheat representative summarized their ongoing work:

"Anti-Cheat isn't one and done, it's an ever-evolving battlefield, and what has worked for us previously or in different games doesn't always work in all of them."

They emphasized that player reports are vital, as a single report can lead to discovering whole cheating communities and new detection methods.

Even with the technical bumps, DICE is using the beta to test player preferences and gather data for launch. The rotating playlists, custom search, and expanded training modes are part of that experimentation. Developers have stressed that the daily rotation won’t be part of the launch version, where players can expect a more stable lineup.

Players still need to check that their hardware meets the Battlefield 6 system requirements before diving in, especially since the Secure Boot step has tripped up some setups. EA has not suggested removing this requirement, meaning it will likely be in place for the full release.

The beta ends on August 17, leaving just under two months before the October 10 launch. That’s not much time to iron out matchmaking, fix DLSS, and ensure anti-cheat runs without clashing with other titles. But EA seems confident in their progress, and given the size of the player base already, there’s no shortage of feedback to work with.

In the meantime, the second weekend offers an expanded taste of the game’s scope. Conquest remains the signature large-scale experience, Rush and Breakthrough bring more objective-focused play, and Close Quarters modes deliver faster, more chaotic fights. Players can swap between open-weapon and closed-weapon loadouts depending on the playlist, giving a sense of how restrictions will affect pacing in the final game.

As long as you can get into a match, there’s a lot to try — but matchmaking stability will decide how many actually can. The combination of live playlist changes, expanded player control, and stricter anti-cheat enforcement shows that DICE and EA are pushing for a polished launch. Whether that’s achievable after a rocky beta depends on how quickly these fixes land before October.

For now, the question isn’t whether Battlefield 6 has the content — it’s whether the infrastructure can keep up with the demand. With 330,000 cheaters already kicked and matchmaking systems under strain, the open beta is proving to be as much a stress test for the servers as it is for the players.