EA should really just cave and add an old-fashioned server browser to Battlefield 6

Now that we know Battlefield 6 won’t be getting a server browser (not a real one, anyhow), it’s time we put the pressure on EA to reconsider. Portal, introduced in 2042, is not a substitute for a proper server browser with dedicated servers, manned and operated by the community.

As confirmed by Battlefield 6 producer Alexia Christofi, DICE’s upcoming shooter will not feature a proper server browser, but an “improved” version of Portal, first introduced in Battlefield 2042. Christofi claims this new Portal will answer all the needs of Battlefield players who so desperately want to see server browsers and dedicated servers return. Which would be fine if Portal allowed for proper plugins, tools, and server operations, rather than being a glorified custom match mode.

Which brings me to my point: EA should give up on trying to reinvent the wheel, look at the overwhelmingly negative response to Christofi’s “server browser solution” aka Portal 2.0, and put a real, dedicated server browser into Battlefield 6, just like every single other BF game had in the past, 2042 not included.

It boggles the mind why EA and DICE, after seeing how much people hated 2042, would want to bring central features from that game back into their last attempt at making Battlefield a good series again. Portal, while functional, is no replacement or substitution for a real server browser, the likes of which we have in Battlefield 1, 4, 3, and just about every Battlefield ever made.

These server browsers and the dedicated community-operated servers within have kept previous games alive for so long, and they continue to run even to this day. Without them, we’re again at risk of EA one day turning the game off forever, which is impossible so long as dedicated server hosting exists.

No “official” server browser should be in the game, and EA really needs to reconsider before BF6‘s Oct. 10 launch, as not having dedicated servers almost completely kills the community side of things. And no matter how many “custom” maps and modes people create in Portal, it’ll still remain a Fortnite-like experience, with no actual community customization or experience curation at all.