The debate on bots is relaunched. Just two weeks after their deletion, Battlefield 6 reintroduces these AI-controlled enemies to Portal’s “Verified Experiments.” This return is, however, limited and regulated, which does not fail to provoke strong reactions within the community.
A partial return of bots in official game modes
In a recent announcement, DICE clarified the new conditions for using bots in Battlefield 6. Each mode (Conquest, Breakthrough, Rush) can now include up to 12 bots. It will therefore no longer be possible to completely fill a server with artificial intelligence. In addition, the system imposes:
- 8 real players minimum to start a game if bot filling is enabled;
- 20 real players required if this filling is disabled;
- 6 bots maximum per team ;
- reduced experience (XP) won against bots, unlike human players (XP at 100%);
- unaffected player stats when bots are present (although this point still seems unstable).
A response to expectations… but incomplete
This partial return aims to meet a dual objective: reduce waiting times in regions with low populations, and contain the abuses observed at launch. At the time, players were exploiting bots to create ultra-profitable “XP farms”, forcing DICE to reduce the associated rewards and then completely remove bots from Verified Experiences.
But this controlled reintegration was not enough to calm the critics. On Reddit as on X, many players believe that DICE is disconnected from the expectations of its community. Some recall that the communication around Portal originally promised a complete progressionincluding against bots. This is no longer the case. “If you don’t want to give what the players are asking for, stop trying. No one wants to wait for 15 more players to start a game,” laments a player on Reddit.
A temporary measure to relieve servers?
DICE, for its part, insists: the bots are there to avoid long queues, not to replace human players. Producer David Sirland clarified that their presence is temporary and that they are only there to quickly fill the rooms until real players arrive.
This particularly concerns geographic areas where the player population is lower. The strategy is therefore pragmatic, but it conflicts with the expectations of a segment of the player base, which hoped for a complete return of bots with progression equivalent to that of PvP games.
A sensitive subject for the Battlefield license
Bot management has been a delicate subject for DICE since Battlefield 2042. Already at the time, the excessive presence of AI in official games had been heavily criticized, while the absence of a true solo or cooperative mode limited accessibility for casual players.
With Battlefield 6the studio seemed to want to correct the situation with Portal, supposed to offer almost total freedom of configuration. But between technical limitations, abuse of XP and commercial objectives, the balance remains fragile.