Battlefield 6 seems set to effectively compete with the Call of Duty franchise after years of inconsistent releases. This shift is attributed to a series of strategic optimizations and a hectic beta process. Developers have chosen to skip ray tracing at launch to enhance overall game performance.

In a discussion with Comicbook.com, technical director Christian Buhl stated:

“No, we are not going to have ray tracing when the game launches and we don’t have any plans in the near future for it either.”

This decision makes sense as omitting ray tracing may reduce the developmental load, focusing on providing a smooth gaming experience. Ray tracing, while enhancing lighting effects, can impose significant demands on hardware, necessitating upscaling and frame generation.

EA has expressed its desire for Battlefield 6 to perform admirably without relying on technologies such as DLSS, hence avoiding ray tracing appears to be a logical step forward.

Though the beta version lacked ray tracing features, it remained visually impressive with stunning explosions and strong lighting effects. The change in approach from past Battlefield games indicates a potential evolution in the franchise, aiming for accessibility and smoother gameplay for a wider audience.

“That was because we wanted to focus on performance. We wanted to make sure that all of our effort was focused on making the game as [optimized] as possible for the default settings and the default users.”

This strategic choice aims to accommodate players using older rigs, as minimum spec players made up a notable percentage in the beta tests.