The first season of post-launch content for Battlefield 6 delivered two entire free-to-play experiences atop the expected additions in an effort to grow the player base. Battlefield Studios isn’t slowing down any time soon, having recently unveiled the roadmap for Season 2, complete with more maps, more weapons, more limited-time modes, and a returning vehicle that’ll either elicit excitement or fear, depending on what kind of player you are.
Last week, I was invited to go hands-on with the first wave of content for Battlefield 6 – Season 2, and after two hours battling through the new map and fruitlessly trying to avoid a new/old aerial menace, it looks like I’ll be adding even more time to my 170+ hours spent with the online shooter already.
Focusing on the first wave of content, titled Extreme Measures, our preview session played out on the first of two new maps coming this season, Contaminated. Located in the picturesque European countryside, this new battleground is anything but picturesque once the bullets start to fly. This mid-sized mountainous map offers more verticality and variety than most found in-game to date.
A small hangar flanked by trenches, a surface-to-air bunker, and a small collection of suburban houses make up the control points surrounding the main talking point on Contamination: the mountain. Another, fourth point of interest rests at the summit, offering a claustrophobic firefight for those interested, but it’s the heart of the mountain that caught my attention. Connecting both sides of the overgrown hill is a tunnel with a control point smack bang in its centre.
The tunnel itself is wide enough for courageous tank commanders to push into, but it’s the infantry battles that shone during these first few rounds. The main tunnel is flanked by a series of tight corridors and obstructed sightlines that harken back to the glory days of Operation Metro. Every fight that went down in the centre of the map was a nail-biter, and it made me reconsider using the tunnel as a thoroughfare each and every time.
A few games of Conquest and Escalation on a map aren’t nearly enough to form a full opinion, but these early impressions are promising. Contaminated offers plenty of open-air fighting, making ground and air vehicles important fixtures, but it also hides close-quarters chaos.
I spent my time on Contaminated playing the new limited-time mode, VL-7 Strike. Similar to Winter Offensive in many ways, this game type introduces a new gameplay-altering effect with the VL-7 smoke. Instead of a persistent cold front that damages over time, the smoke, which will appear on random control points across the map, has a far more psychoactive flavour. Standing in the coloured smoke without this season’s new gas mask gadget will have you seeing phantoms. Sometimes these shadowy figures are enemies, sometimes they’re friends, and other times they aren’t really there at all.
The gas mask doesn’t take up a gadget slot, completely negates the smoke’s effects, but it does have a limited use. Once that metre runs out, you’re in for a hallucinogenic time. It’s a fun twist on matches that changes things up without disrupting the round too heavily. The main benefit I noticed was that players were less likely to camp on a point, with the gas forcing them to dip in and out in fear of slipping into a compromised state.
Somehow, the mind-melting gas isn’t the scariest new addition with Season 2. That honour goes to the returning AH-6 Little Bird scout helicopter, and its counterpart, the MH-350. Fast and far easier to fly than its bigger cousin, these little mosquitoes are just as deadly here as they have been in previous Battlefield titles. If you’re on foot and you see or hear a Little Bird, you may as well lie down and accept your minigun-riddled fate. So nimble is the Little Bird that I struggled to use the new 9K38 IGLA launcher to take it down, as skilled pilots can fly low and fast to avoid lock-ons. While I see many Little Bird-assisted deaths in my future, I’m also keen to see the community get their hands on these, if only to see how creative they can get with flying them through the Contaminated tunnel.
When I wasn’t being turned into mincemeat by helicopters, I managed to test the VCR-2 assault rifle, GRT-CPS DMR, and M121 A2 LMG. The VCR is a hefty mid-range offering, and the M121 expands the LMG range nicely, with a good balance of fire rate and accuracy, but the GRT is the standout. As someone with an allergy to long-range accuracy, this DMR’s high rate of fire is a breath of fresh air. I didn’t get much time with the new Recon HTI-MRK2 jammer, but I did enjoy levelling helis with the new 9K38 IGLA ground-to-air launcher.
I know for a fact that the Little Bird is going to haunt my dreams once Season Two goes live on February 17, but the cathartic rush I’ll get from finally nailing one with an RPG will be worth it. Just like the first, Battlefield 6 – Season 2 is looking to keep the ball rolling with a fun new map and mode, some meaningful additions to the arsenal, and, yes, the return of the devil in the sky, the AH-6 Little Bird.
Battlefield 6 – Season 2 is going live on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 17, 2026.
Previewed on PC using code provided by the publisher
Click here for more information on WellPlayed’s review policy and ethics
