Technologies

Battlefield 6 Review: Big-Battle Mayhem Is Back, but Destruction Is AWOL

The revamped Battlefield has some divisive tweaks, but its signature mechanic is now more cosmetic than strategic.

Marching forward down an alley, gunfire rings out and my squadmates go down. As the last one standing, I hit the ground while bullets whiz over my head, using my defibrillator gadget to crawl forward and revive my teammates one by one — the whole squad brought back to take the day.

It’s a moment that could only happen in Battlefield 6, EA DICE’s next entry in the beloved military shooter franchise. In my early time with the game, I’ve had a range of these «experiences» that remind me why this franchise stands out from Call of Duty and other modern first-person shooters. And while the new game feels like it’s crept closer to the rapid-paced arena-style combat of those other FPS games, it mostly keeps to the Battlefield series’ signature experience: squad-based, large-scale battles mixing soldiers and vehicles.

Mostly, anyway — though some of developer EA DICE’s choices during the Open Beta rubbed players the wrong way, including letting each class use every weapon type. That setup will likely remain the dominant way to play multiplayer, despite the more restrictive Closed Weapons mode still available. It’s a tweak to the Battlefield formula seemingly meant to attract gamers beyond the series’ playerbase. While it does dilute some of the game’s identity, it’ll be hard to gauge how much until the full release.

One of the game’s most notable visual upgrades also proves paper-thin in multiplayer matches. Destruction barely matters — fire an explosive or a tank round into a building and only the outer walls will crumble. It’s undeniable that EA DICE made the crumbling debris look stunning, but it barely serves a purpose in combat. Gone are the days of leveling entire buildings into rubble, as in Battlefield 1 and 5, when destruction could reshape the battlefield. With so many of Battlefield 6’s maps set in dense city streets and alleys, it’s a shame I couldn’t blast open more pathways and lanes for a strategic advantage.

Players may eventually find better ways to exploit the destruction mechanics. But that won’t happen on day one, since most explosive gadgets are locked behind higher progression levels or specific challenges when Battlefield 6 launches on Oct. 10. At best, players can equip all their classes with a sledgehammer melee weapon and try taking down buildings one swing at a time. They won’t get far more useful demolition tools until after lots of playtime — C4 sapper charges for the Recon class, for instance, aren’t available until reaching level 20 and a class challenge is finished.

What’s left is a competent, riveting shooter that shines where Battlefield always has — in large-scale battles where squads capture zones and outmaneuver enemies with a mix of coordinated tactics and vehicle support. That’s where you’ll find those unforgettable, had-to-be-there moments of wild survival and miraculous plays that are now easier than ever to record to send to your friends. Outside that sweet spot — in the areas where Battlefield 6 tries to encroach on other shooters’ turf — the gameplay feel less natural. I can only lose so many close-quarter gunfights before I start craving the chaos of the big battlefield again.

Battlefield 6 pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses

Battlefield 6 includes a solo campaign mode, which I unlocked about halfway through — a middling story about a NATO combat unit shipping out around the world to fight the global mercenary force Pax Armata. There’s enough intrigue in an overarching intelligence conspiracy plot to pique interest, and some fun set pieces, including an airdrop, a beach landing in an armored personnel carrier and a stealth infiltration. But mostly, it’s a bunch of shooting down corridors until you’re off to the next international location that shows up prominently in multiplayer maps.

For most gamers, multiplayer is where they’ll spend almost all their time in Battlefield 6. The large-scale modes are the standouts, though maps are hit or miss. Liberation Peak is a mountainous desert with zones split between landscape features. Operation Firestorm, returning from Battlefield 3, is an overly large map with vast stretches of empty terrain between capture points that practically requires vehicles just to reach the firefights. The best maps balance verticality with clear lanes for patient long-range shots and tighter areas packed with obstacles for cover for frantic close-range fights.

The same goes for Battlefield’s large-scale All-Out Warfare modes. Breakthrough is enjoyable, with teams taking turns between attacking and defending as they fall back across capture zones. Conquest keeps things straightforward — rack up points for holding objectives. Escalation, meanwhile, tends to drag on as teams struggle to capture and hold each map’s trio of zones to secure a win.

The game’s close-quarters modes — like Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill, which most closely mirror Call of Duty’s small-scale, high-intensity fights — are even more polarizing. With no vehicles to take out, the Engineer class is functionally worthless. The maps, which are small chunks carved from the large-scale maps, make or break CQC: One split off from Liberation Peak was frenetically fun to play, while another from Manhattan Bridge was boring, with bland, gray buildings under construction.

Keep in mind, most of my impressions come from the open beta, since the Battlefield 6 review period had relatively few online players. Most of my matches had just a handful of flesh-and-blood teammates and rivals, with bots filling in around 90% of the roster on each side. While that meant I couldn’t properly preview the new maps introduced after the open beta, it still gave me an idea of what they represented — as well as all the guns and gadgets that’ll come with the full game.

Battlefield 6’s arsenal at launch is respectably robust, with 41 main weapons. Not all categories are quality stocked, though — assault rifles, SMGs and LMGs each get eight options, while shotguns and sniper rifles only have three apiece. But players will have to play awhile to use them; I’m at level 14 and can only access 11 weapons. Among the game’s four pistols to choose from, I can only use one so far.

Gadgets are also locked behind higher levels or challenges, which, I can only imagine, will frustrate new players who’ll likely have to slog through hours of playtime to fully diversify their kits. I was particularly annoyed to be stuck with the Engineer’s basic land mine, which can be thrown all of three feet, knowing far more advanced anti-vehicle options are waiting at levels 27 and 37.

Once players get all their toys and guns, they’ll likely better match tactics to their preferred play style. That’s not even counting the two so-called Training Paths eventually available. These paths open up new abilities during matches, including better vehicle repair or extra ordnance, encouraging players to stick with single classes.

Add in grenades and class items and that’s a lot of complexity to juggle during matches. This balance is one of Battlefield 6’s biggest strengths, giving a boost to players who aren’t FPS veterans — supporting teammates or taking out vehicles can be just as valuable as racking up kills.

There are still frustrating frictions within the game — some of which teach lessons — like the ultra-fast time-to-kill that can drop you in under a second, encouraging you to stick to cover and set up ambushes instead. Others are baffling developer choices: I once squared off against an enemy attack helicopter, firing off several anti-air Stinger missiles that always missed thanks to a seemingly endless supply of diverting chaff spurting from the spicy whirlybird, which always gunned me down moments after. Why even bother giving players anti-air options?

Did EA DICE ruin Battlefield 6 with open weapons?

Probably the most controversial choice EA DICE has made is switching from locking certain weapons to specific classes. In prior Battlefield games, Assault got midrange assault rifles, Engineer got close-range submachine guns, Support got large-magazine light machine guns and Recon got sniper rifles. While every class could use more limited shotguns, medium- to long-range designated marksman rifles and the all-around carbines, their «signature weapons» were most often the best choice.

In Battlefield 6, EA DICE opened the floodgates by letting every class use every weapon in so-called Open Weapon playlists, though there are still power-up advantages to picking guns suited to each class, including less delay in aiming down sights. In a post-mortem blog post analyzing player behavior in the open beta, the studio confirmed that «more players played with non-signature weapons in Open Weapon playlists.» But even so, the post continued, «there was not a single dominant weapon archetype, and we observed a consistent and well-distributed pick-rate between them.»

The deadly assault rifle wasn’t, for example, the de facto pick that made every other weapon pointless. That matched my experience, with players rotating between different guns. Heck, the humble M4A1, the first carbine available to all players, was the gun I was probably killed by most. There’s so much variety in play style and gun options that I didn’t see a noticeable advantage when I stuck with one specific gun across classes. More often, I was getting my kicks playing to my role by taking on tanks as an Engineer or reviving teammates as a Support.

Battlefield fans holding onto hope that EA DICE will reverse course will almost surely be disappointed: Open beta players who tried both Open and Closed Weapons modes tended to stick with the former, since it let them use any weapon with any class. «This reinforces our belief that Open Weapons is the right path forward for Battlefield 6,» developers wrote in the blog post. Closed Weapons game types will be available at launch as a consolation prize, but it seems like players who want to join the majority should get with the times and embrace Battlefield’s all-weapon direction.

Ultimately, Battlefield 6 gives the series’ fans the big battle experiences they’ve been wanting, though it doesn’t offer too many unique advantages in small-team firefight modes over rival military shooters. At launch, players should also be able to make their own custom games via Portal, which wasn’t available during our review period. EA DICE has shown to be reasonably responsive to player feedback with all the changes made after the open beta, but the game’s longevity relies on its bones — and how many only-in-Battlefield moments it gives players. I certainly had my share.

Technologies

Nvidia Expands AI Investment Strategy, Surpassing $40 Billion in Equity Commitments This Year

Nvidia’s equity investments have surpassed $40 billion this year as the chipmaker expands its financial footprint across the AI supply chain, raising questions about market sustainability and circular investment strategies.

Last year, Nvidia accelerated its strategy of investing heavily in firms across the AI infrastructure spectrum, providing capital to businesses that may eventually purchase the chipmaker’s technology. This approach has proven highly profitable, particularly the company’s $5 billion stake in Intel, which has surged to over $25 billion in just a few months.

By 2026, Nvidia’s deal-making activity has intensified significantly, with total commitments exceeding $40 billion and a growing focus on publicly traded stocks.

Earlier this week, Nvidia announced a $2.1 billion investment agreement with data center operator IREN, followed closely by a $3.2 billion pact with Corning, a century-old glass manufacturer. Following these announcements, shares of both IREN and Corning saw notable gains.

Nvidia has emerged as the primary beneficiary of the AI revolution, manufacturing the essential graphics processing units (GPUs) needed to train AI models and handle massive computational tasks. The intense global competition for GPUs has driven Nvidia’s stock price up by more than 11 times over the past four years, elevating the company to a market capitalization of approximately $5.2 trillion and making it the world’s most valuable enterprise.

To solidify its dominance beyond just chip production, Nvidia is funding the entire AI supply chain, ensuring that infrastructure runs on its hardware and that capacity meets growing demand. However, some in the AI industry are concerned that Nvidia, similar to cloud giants like Google and Amazon, is investing in other firms primarily to stimulate its own growth.

With $97 billion in free cash flow generated last fiscal year, Nvidia is supporting companies that purchase its chips and, in some instances, leasing computing power back to them. Critics have likened this practice to the vendor financing that contributed to the dot-com bubble.

Matthew Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, noted that Nvidia’s investments align with the «circular investment theme» that has raised concerns about market sustainability. Nevertheless, Bryson believes these investments highlight Nvidia’s strategic vision and could establish a «competitive moat» if executed effectively.

An Nvidia spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

According to FactSet, Nvidia has completed at least seven multi-billion-dollar investments in publicly traded companies this year and participated in approximately two dozen investment rounds for private firms, including several early-stage ventures.

‘We don’t pick winners’

Nvidia’s largest single investment is a $30 billion stake in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and a long-time partner. The company also contributed to major funding rounds for Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI, shortly before xAI merged with SpaceX in February.

«There are so many great, amazing foundation model companies, and we try to invest in all of them,» Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated during an April podcast. «We don’t pick winners. We need to support everyone.»

With Nvidia’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report less than two weeks away, investors will gain a clearer understanding of the scale of the company’s expanding portfolio and its financial impact.

During the previous fiscal year, Nvidia invested $17.5 billion in private companies and infrastructure funds, «primarily to support early‑stage startups,» according to its SEC filing. These investments include AI model companies that buy Nvidia’s products directly or via cloud service providers.

Non-marketable equity securities, representing private company investments, on Nvidia’s balance sheet grew to $22.25 billion by the end of January, up from $3.39 billion a year prior. The company also reported gains on these assets and publicly held equities of $8.92 billion, up from $1.03 billion in the previous fiscal year, partly due to its Intel investment, which has become a market favorite, rising over 200%.

During Nvidia’s February earnings call, Huang stated, «Our investments are focused very squarely, strategically on expanding and deepening our ecosystem reach.»

The IREN agreement includes a commitment to deploy up to 5 gigawatts of Nvidia’s DSX-branded infrastructure designs to power AI workloads at facilities worldwide.

Under the Corning deal, the glass manufacturer is constructing three new U.S. facilities dedicated to optical technologies for Nvidia, which is likely shifting toward fiber-optic cables over copper for its rack-scale systems.

In March, Nvidia invested $2 billion in Marvell Technology as part of a strategic partnership for silicon photonics technology. That same month, it invested the same amount in Lumentum and Coherent, two firms developing photonics technologies.

Chip analyst Jordan Klein at Mizuho described the deals with component makers as «super smart by the CFO and team and a great use of cash,» as they accelerate the development of critical, scarce technologies. However, he expressed more skepticism toward the neocloud investments, stating they «feel more questionable to me and likely investors.»

«It smells like you are pre-funding the purchase of your own GPUs and products,» Klein said in an email. Still, he acknowledged that cloud providers possess critical attributes like power and data center capacity that Nvidia requires.

Ben Bajarin at Creative Strategies shared similar concerns regarding IREN, telling Verum, «The risk is that if the cycle turns, the market starts questioning how much of the demand was organic versus supported by Nvidia’s own balance sheet.»

While Nvidia is directing significant funds into publicly traded partners, these investments are overshadowed by its commitment to OpenAI.

Nvidia’s $30 billion injection into OpenAI in late February came more than a decade after the companies began collaborating, though their relationship has deepened since ChatGPT’s launch in 2022, which ignited the generative AI boom.

Nvidia’s initial investment in OpenAI was intended to be much larger. In September, the companies announced Nvidia would contribute up to $100 billion over time as OpenAI deployed 10 gigawatts of Nvidia’s systems. That deal ultimately did not materialize as OpenAI shifted away from developing data centers, instead relying on partners like Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon to assemble capacity.

Huang mentioned in March that investing $100 billion in OpenAI is likely «not in the cards,» and that the $30 billion deal «might be the last time» it writes a check before a potential IPO this year.

WATCH: Nvidia’s AI supply chain empire: Here’s what you need to know

Technologies

Why Privacy Begins Where Even the Service Creator Can’t See Anything

Today, almost every messenger promises “security” and “encryption.” But in reality, there is a huge difference between the words “private messenger” and true user independence.

Most modern platforms are still built around trust in the company. The user is expected to believe that:

* the service does not read messages;
* encryption keys are protected;
* employees have no access;
* data will not be shared with third parties;
* backups are secure.

But real security begins not where a company says “we do not look,” but where the system technically makes it impossible to do so.

This is exactly the principle behind Verum Messenger.

The Core Principle of Verum: Only the User Has Access

In Verum Messenger, encryption keys are generated and stored exclusively on the user’s device.

This means:

* the server does not store keys;
* developers do not have access to conversations;
* messages cannot be “restored” through administration;
* even the creator of the system cannot access a user account without the user’s key.

The key belongs only to the owner.

The user can:

* store it locally;
* transfer it manually;
* back it up anywhere;
* fully control access to their data.

The system is not built around trust in a company. It is built around eliminating the need to trust anyone at all.

Why the Absence of Access Matters More Than Promises

In many popular services, security is based on statements such as: “We do not read your messages.”

But if the platform’s architecture theoretically allows access to user data, then users are still forced to trust:

* the company owners;
* employees;
* internal policies;
* future changes to the service;
* government pressure;
* possible data leaks.

Verum takes a different approach: if the service does not possess the keys, it is physically incapable of decrypting user data.

That is the fundamental difference between:

* “we will not look”
and
* “we are unable to look.”

Why Phone Numbers Are a Weak Point

Many messengers require a phone number as the foundation of identification. But a phone number is not just a registration method.

It:

* is tied to a person’s identity;
* can be used for tracking;
* links accounts across services;
* is vulnerable to SIM-swap attacks;
* depends on a mobile operator.

Verum removes this dependency.

Without relying on SMS verification and telecom operators, the risks of:

* deanonymization;
* account hijacking;
* third-party account recovery

are significantly reduced.

Open Source and Audits: Why the Debate Continues

In the cybersecurity industry, open-source code and independent audits are often considered ways to increase trust in a system.

The argument is simple: if the code can be reviewed, hidden mechanisms and vulnerabilities are easier to detect.

But there is another perspective.

Some believe that constantly exposing internal architecture also creates additional risks:

* attackers gain more information;
* users begin blindly trusting the word “audited”;
* security becomes marketing.

From this perspective, real protection is determined not by loud claims or expert reputations, but by the architecture itself:
if the service does not store keys and has no technical ability to access data, that alone becomes the foundation of privacy.

Privacy Is Not a Promise — It Is a System Limitation

The central idea behind Verum Messenger is simple:

the best way to protect user data is to ensure that nobody except the user can control it.

Even the platform owner.

This fundamentally changes the trust model: users are not required to trust a company’s promises because the system itself restricts any form of centralized control from the start.

In this approach, privacy stops being a feature.

It becomes an architectural principle.

Technologies

Rocket Lab Soars 34% on Record Revenue and Historic Launch Agreement

Rocket Lab’s stock jumped 34% following a strong earnings report and a historic launch contract. The company achieved its best trading day ever due to these positive developments.

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