Top Gun Update
[list]Wake Island Returns on August 18
Carrier Strike and Fighter Sweep
New Hardware and Fort Lyndon POI
Gameplay Updates
Combat Experience Updates
Matchmaking
Portal
Take Flight
[/list]Hey everyone,
With Season 4, Tsuru Reef brought a larger playfield, dynamic waves, and new routes across the islands that lean into All-Out Warfare combat. From the look and feel of the water to the way the map creates new routes across the islands, it has been great to see players discovering how the space flows and where the biggest fights start to form.
The Top Gun Update arrives on August 18, bringing the next wave of Season 4 content to Battlefield 6 with Wake Island, new air-focused experiences, new hardware, a new POI on Fort Lyndon in Battle Royale, and more amazing Portal experiences. Let’s dive into what's coming next.
Wake Island has always been known for its open combat lanes, island-wide momentum swings, and the kind of combined arms warfare where infantry, vehicles, and aircraft all have room to shape the fight.
Reimagined around the modern sandbox, this iteration of Wake Island comes with a stronger focus on naval warfare and large-scale conflict across land, air, and sea. Carrier-based HQs anchor both sides of the battle, while the surrounding waters and island layout create new opportunities for vehicle play, infantry pushes, and aerial support.
Whether you’re storming the island, defending key routes by boat, or fighting for control from above, Wake Island is built to deliver the kind of all-out Battlefield moments that make every match feel different.
This update brings two new modes built around air combat, objective play, and team coordination as part of the Top Gun collaboration.
Carrier Strike is a new mode where both teams fight to destroy the enemy carrier. Capture key sectors across the island, deploy vehicles, and create openings for pilots to strike deeper into enemy territory. As the carrier takes damage, the battle escalates with a final objective inside the vessel, turning the match into one last coordinated assault to finish the fight.
Fighter Sweep arrives in REDSEC as a new Gauntlet mission. Take down enemy jets and destroy stockpiles placed across the playspace to build your team’s score. Challenge rivals in a dogfight, dive on objectives, or break away under pressure while your squad looks for the next opportunity to take the lead.
Do you have what it takes to become the next Top Gun?
The Top Gun collaboration also brings new hardware to the battlefield.
The Interdictor joins the weapon lineup as a new sniper rifle, while the F/A-81F Super Spectre and F-74A Seacat arrive as new two-seat jets.
We are also adding a new POI to Fort Lyndon, known as USS Grant, for Battle Royale. The Crashed Carrier will feature higher-value loot than standard POIs, and for the first few weeks after launch it will be tagged as a High Value Zone to help squads quickly find and contest the new location.
We’re continuing to make updates across the combat experience.
ADS Dispersion Crosshair
We’ve heard that it is not always clear how sustained fire and movement affect weapon accuracy, particularly while aiming down sights. To make that behavior easier to understand, we’re introducing an optional ADS Dispersion Crosshair.
When firing an automatic weapon while aiming down sights, the indicator will expand as dispersion increases, showing that your weapon is becoming less accurate during sustained fire. Movement will also be reflected, helping you better understand how your accuracy changes while repositioning or engaging on the move.
The goal is to give players a clearer visual read on how dispersion works, especially as you practice burst control, movement, and weapon handling.
By default, this option is enabled in the Firing Range only, but it can be turned off entirely or enabled in multiplayer experiences through the settings. It also includes its own opacity slider and color options so you can adjust its visibility to your preference.
Airplane Control Assist
With this update bringing new aircraft and new air-focused experiences, we also want to highlight Airplane Control Assist.
This setting is designed to help more players get comfortable in the skies and better understand the control options available to them. Whether you’re a returning pilot or a player taking off for the first time, we encourage you to check your settings and try the control scheme that feels best for you.
After all, it’s not just the plane, it’s the pilot.
Gunplay
Thank you for continuing to share feedback on gunplay, time-to-kill, and time-to-death. Our goal is to keep combat responsive and rewarding while making sure players have enough time to understand what happened and respond when a fight begins.
As we shared previously, our initial findings showed TTD increasing across most weapons and ranges following the last major gunplay update. Those results have remained steady so far, and we’ll continue to monitor as we evaluate where further tuning may be needed.
Gameplay data from live matches also shows more cases where players who are eliminated still manage to deal damage before going down. This tells us more players are getting an opportunity to react and fight back during firefights.
We do not want to push too far and make enemies feel like bullet sponges, so our focus is on reviewing weapon performance, identifying outliers, and exploring balance adjustments, including opportunities to improve underperforming weapons.
We recently made playlist adjustments across all regions to help improve matchmaking health, queue times, and match quality across the most active modes. These changes are intended to better align players around modes with strong activity while still keeping flexibility through Portal and Custom Search.
We’re already reviewing early feedback and tracking the data to understand how these adjustments affect the overall health of matchmaking. We’ll continue monitoring closely and make additional changes where needed.
We are continuing to read your concerns and feedback around matchmaking, so we are also planning to discuss matchmaking in more detail, where we’ll go deeper on our goals, what we’re seeing in the data, and where further improvements can be made.
Introducing the Portal Advanced Editor Program
The Advanced Editor is where selected Portal creators gain access to new experimental tools, including baked lighting and terrain editing. These additions improve visual fidelity through baked lighting, improved performance, and unlock new creative possibilities by allowing creators to reshape landscapes through heightmap editing and terrain shader painting with materials such as grass, dirt, and rock.
Throughout the initial rollout, we'll continue working closely with participating builders as we gather feedback and refine the tools.
As part of the preliminary rollout of the Advanced Editor, we selected Bellum1988's Custom Operation Metro experience for inclusion in the Portal SDK. Built using baked lighting, it showcases the visual improvements and creative possibilities made possible by these new tools. We used this map as an internal test of the tools we'll be rolling out in our Advanced Editor.
During this preliminary rollout, additional selected creators will receive access to the tools. As experiences are completed, reviewed, and approved, we'll publish selected builders' creations to the Portal SDK for the community to explore and build upon.
Our goal as the program evolves is to continue refining how the program grows, with the goal of refining iteration workflows and improving how we support builders using these advanced features.
The Advanced Editor is designed to further empower builders who are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in Portal while helping us refine these advanced tools through real-world use.
As the program develops, we'll continue expanding the program while celebrating the incredible experiences the community creates. Whether you're part of the initial wave or not, we encourage everyone to keep building, experimenting, and sharing their creations with us; your efforts help shape the future of Portal.
If you're interested in gaining access, we'll be introducing an interest sign-up in the future. In the meantime, the best way to stand out is by continuing to create unique experiences and engaging with the Portal community.
Tsuru Reef
Players will be able to create custom experiences on Tsuru Reef, one of our largest Battlefield maps. Built for combat across land, sea, and air, it offers plenty of room for flanking, vehicle warfare, and a variety of ways to approach each objective. We can't wait to see what the community builds with it!
Wake Island
Wake Island will be available for Verified Experiences and later in the season for Custom Experiences. Reimagined for the modern Battlefield sandbox, it features a greater emphasis on naval warfare, with carrier-based HQs and large-scale combat across land, air, and sea. Its redesigned layout creates new opportunities for vehicle combat, infantry assaults, and aerial support.
Custom Lobbies and Spectator Mode
Custom Lobbies and Spectator Mode capabilities are arriving with the Top Gun Update on August 18 through Battlefield Labs in Live.
Building on Portal, Custom Lobbies are designed to give players more control over how they set up and run matches. We see these features supporting private sessions, community tournaments, creator-led events, and more organized ways to play with friends, squads, and wider community. Spectator Mode will also give players new ways to follow the action.
Initial support will include Battle Royale Quads and Conquest, with additional modes planned as the feature expands. We will share a full dedicated article on Custom Lobbies and Spectator Mode before the Top Gun update launches, with more details on how these features work and how players can start using them.
The runway is clear. We’ll catch you in the skies above Wake Island.
For the latest updates, keep an eye on Steam Discussions and our BattlefieldComm X account. If you need to report any issues, please visit EA forums. If you want to take part in Q&As, giveaways, community events, or find a squad, join the Battlefield Discord.
See you on the Battlefield.
//The Battlefield Team
This announcement may change as we listen to community feedback and continue developing and evolving our Live Service & Content. We will always strive to keep our community as informed as possible.
