Destruction has always set Battlefield apart from the competition. Whether it’s skyscrapers tumbling from up above, house walls being obliterated, or gigantic zeppelins scattered across the front line, your ability to quite literally level the playing field is core to the multiplayer game’s experience. This is why destruction is a key part of EA’s ongoing testing for the next game in the series, and a new update from the team shows how the mechanic is being evolved for the future.
To avoid another Battlefield 2042-style disaster, EA is building the next game in the series with Battlefield Labs. This pre-launch testing environment is filled with real players, as EA brings them into the early stages of development to gather invaluable feedback. We don’t hear much about what the Labs team is up to from the outside, but every once in a while EA drops an update, and the latest is all about the FPS game’s trademark destruction.
“Our goals for destruction are centered around adding further gameplay depth by allowing you to reshape the environment and transform your surroundings toward a tactical advantage,” EA writes. “For example, barging through walls to surprise your enemies, reshaping the battlefield to create new paths into the capture zones, or taking down a building to take out an attacking squad.
“We’re designing destruction around easily identifiable visual and audio language that lets you understand what can be destroyed, altered, or transformed through gameplay.”
We’re back with another Battlefield Labs Community Update focused on destruction! Check out an early pre-alpha example of destruction that showcases the ability to destroy a wall to quickly traverse through the building. Read the full article now! #Battlefield pic.twitter.com/bgDcPgZRbg
— Battlefield (@Battlefield) April 18, 2025
EA says different surface types will visually degrade before breaking, as buildings “apple-core” from the outside while crumbling. This means persistent damage of all types can contribute to a building’s structural integrity, while opening up specific tactical advantages (or disadvantages, depending on your opponent).
One way EA is enhancing these features is with rubble. Destroyed concrete and other materials will remain on the battlefield, which you can use as new cover and protection from enemy fire. Maybe a pile of debris can act as a ramp, or a collapsed wall can keep you shielded from a tank – your opportunities are endless.
This isn’t the finalized state of the mechanic, however, as EA explains. “Destruction will be an ongoing topic within our playsessions, and we’ll continue to test these and other areas of destruction throughout upcoming playsessions.”
If you want to get involved with EA’s ongoing testing, make sure you brush up on exactly how to sign up for Battlefield Labs. EA has more playtests and feedback planned, so it’s not too late to get involved.
While we wait for the next Battlefield, make sure you check out the best multiplayer games and war games on PC today.
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